Perez crushes Nicolau with KO in UFC main event

Former UFC flyweight title challenger Alex Perez got back on track with a blistering knockout finish Saturday night.

Perez stopped Matheus Nicolau at the 2:16 mark of the second round in the UFC Fight Night main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Perez backed Nicolau up against the fence and crumpled him with a devastating right hook.

The knockout snapped Perez's three-fight losing streak, marking his first victory since beating Jussier Formiga in June 2020.

Perez came in on short notice after Manel Kape withdrew from his fight against Nicolau in early April.

This was Perez's second Octagon outing of 2024. The 32-year-old California native returned to the cage in March after 20 months away and dropped a narrow unanimous decision to highly touted up-and-comer Muhammad Mokaev.

The other two defeats between Perez's wins over Nicolau and Formiga came against current 125-pound champion Alexandre Pantoja and former champ Deiveson Figueiredo. Perez challenged Figueiredo for the title in November 2020 and lost via submission.

Perez has dealt with numerous fight cancellations throughout his UFC career. Since May 2021, Perez has had nine scheduled bouts called off and stepped into the cage just three times.

Nicolau fought for the first time since April 2023 and is now riding the first losing streak of his career.