It wasn't that long ago that the UFC's flyweight division was teetering on extinction. The bouts that were held weren't necessarily great. Fans weren't into it. The greatest flyweight ever was traded for a welterweight who was nearly at the end of the line.
Now, the division has been rebuilt to such a degree that not only did a flyweight bout sit atop UFC Vegas 91 on Saturday at Apex in Las Vegas, but the 125-pounders will headline a pay-per-view on May 1 when champion Alexandre Pantoja puts his belt on the line against Steve Erceg in the main event of UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Fighting on just three weeks' notice Saturday, Alex Perez made short work of Matheus Nicolau in the main event after Manel Kape pulled out yet again. But the short notice had little impact, as a perfectly placed right hand to the chin finished Nicolau at 2:16 of the second in a fitting capper to a fun main card.
Perez and Nicolau took the cage after three of the earlier main card fights finished with knockouts. The co-main event featured a brutal KO by Bogan Guskov of Ryan Spann. There was a lot for Perez and Nicolau to live up to, but as the flyweight fights have been doing recently, they met the moment.
Perez was coming off three consecutive losses, though they were to then-champion Deiveson Figueiredo, future champion Pantoja and touted prospect Muhammad Mokaev. He wasn't fighting hillbillies, and he showed his class by delivering a crisp KO against Nicolau.
"You know, everybody was counting me out after three losses," said Perez, who won for the first time since a June 6, 2020, victory over Jussier Formiga.
The depth in the division isn't significant as it is in some others, but the quality is definitely there. And there are plenty of action fighters among the 125-pounders, who have developed a reputation over the last several years for putting on some of the best fights on the card.
Nicolau entered the fight having come off of a loss to Brandon Royval a year ago, but he'd won 12 of 13 before that, including four in a row in the UFC. But he never was able to get untracked against Perez, who was determined from the outset to snap his losing skid.
When Kape fell out, Perez accepted the bout almost as quickly as it was offered to him. Nicolau was ranked fifth, three slots ahead of Perez, so it was a good opportunity for Perez to begin a move back up the rankings.
"I told you a long time ago, I don't get paid to sit on the couch," Perez said. "I get paid to fight, so I'm at the gym all the time."
That benefitted him with not only a victory but a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, joining Guskov, Uros Medic and Jhonata Diniz with the post-fight bonuses.
The win also was huge for Perez because it will no doubt inch him closer to the top slot. Brandon Royval is ranked first and ex-champion Brandon Moreno second, but Moreno is taking personal time off and not expected to fight for a while. So Perez will move up in the rankings and is that much closer to another title opportunity.
Unlike in 2020 when he got his previous shot, the division is deep with talented and potential entertaining matches, and the ranked fighters can't afford to sit on their laurels.
Perez proved that convincingly on Saturday.