Athletes
Alex Perez | Grateful For The Ride
Flyweight Discusses Recovery From ACL Surgery And His Plan To Get Back Into Title Contention
By the time Alex Perez makes the walk to the Octagon in Doha, Qatar, it will be 526 days since he was in a fight. The last time he made the walk was on June 15, 2024, when he faced Japan’s Tatsuro Taira.
Unfortunately, the flyweight tore his ACL, sending him down a long road to recovery.
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“It was hard mentally, probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to do,” Perez said. “Not being able to train, even just walk for a while, you kind of take lot of stuff for granted, so I'm excited to get back in there and show everybody what I've been working on.”
Perez gave a handful of shoutouts to the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, which assisted him in his recovery over the past year and a half. Now, the flyweight returns to action against Asu Almabayev, and he gets to do so on the first-ever UFC card held in Qatar.
Not a bad way to make your return after some time away.
“It means a lot, coming out here and being on the first UFC card in Doha.” Perez said. “It's cool. Being here in the Middle East is cool. I’m excited to explore and go see what they have and an excited eat some food in the next day. I'm a foodie, so that's the one thing I look for.”
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For the seventh-ranked contender, it’s an intriguing time to re-insert himself into the division. With the belt on the line in two weeks at UFC 323 between champion Alexandre Pantoja and Joshua Van, in addition to more big matchups between Brandon Moreno and Tatsuro Taira, and Brandon Royval and Manel Kape, all eyes are on the top of the division.
With his sights set on Saturday night against Almabayev, Perez feels he could be back in the title conversation with one or two more wins. Since making his UFC debut back in 2023, Almabayev has only tasted defeat once inside the Octagon, and it came earlier this year in his first UFC main event against Kape. Perez is excited to test himself against someone like Almabayev.
“He has beat some of the guys that I usually help out, like Ode and some of these other guys, so I'm excited for the challenge,” Perez said. “There's only been one guy to figure him out in the UFC and that was Manel. Me and Manel now have a totally different game, so I'm excited to solve this puzzle. He's a grappler, I'm a grappler, so usually that means it is going to be a stand-up fight, but we'll see what happens. I'm excited to test my wrestling against his wrestling as well.”
In speaking with Perez this week ahead of the fight, you can feel the eagerness surrounding him ahead of getting back to doing what he loves. Numerous times throughout his interview with UFC.com on Tuesday, the flyweight mentioned how excited he was to get back in the Octagon. And most of all, he is looking forward to showing the work that he has been putting in behind the scenes over the past year and a half.
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Saturday marks his 35th professional fight, and when asked how much he takes the time to look back on his career, Perez said he looks back all the time. Often, it’s because his son asks him about a poster that is hanging up or when he sees Dad on TV. It’s a special moment that Perez doesn’t take for granted.
It has been a rocky road for Perez throughout the past couple of years, but now that he is healthy once again, he has his sights set on gold. Back in 2024, Perez had competed three times before his injury, and with a win on Saturday night, he wants to get back to his active ways, with a run at the title in the not-too-distant future.
UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs Hooker took place live from ABHA Arena in Doha, Qatar on November 22, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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