The UFC made history at their Apex facility last night, breaking a streak held since the company began over 30 years ago.
UFC Vegas 91 saw Alex Perez land a stunning knockout victory over Matheus Nicolau to put an end to four years without a win. The California native has had a torrid time during the post-coronavirus era of the UFC, with 10 fights falling through amidst a three-fight losing skid.
Two of his losses had come against world champions in Deiveson Figueiredo and Alexandre Pantoja, with his latest seeing him drop a decision to youngster Muhammad Mokaev. But he turned it around against Nicolau in front of a limited crowd at the Las Vegas facility last night.
Alex Perez overcomes the odds to end lengthy losing streak and land KO win over Matheus Nicolau
As a former world title contender, Perez’s recent run of results has been surprising to some. He was unlucky to miss out on a massive amount of fight opportunities in the post-pandemic world, but now appears to be back to form with a win over Nicolau.
The Brazilian was a slight favourite heading into the bout, although he was coming off a period of inactivity following his loss to Brandon Royval over a year ago. Perez was on top through the early exchanges, and in the second round managed to get his rival against the fence and land a vicious knockout to return to the win column.
Such is the state of UFC’s flyweight division, Perez is now firmly back in contention for a shot at the winner of Pantoja’s fight with Steve Erceg next month. He will likely need one more statement victory, but after beating No.5-ranked Nicolau from the No.8 position, he may move even further ahead in the rankings.
Erceg is getting a title opportunity from the position of No.10, which has proven controversial with some fans ahead of UFC 301. However, the Australian is unbeaten in the UFC with three wins, and is confident of landing the upset in his first world title opportunity.
UFC makes history with first female ring announcer after last-minute illness
Perhaps one of the most noteworthy pieces of news from an otherwise relatively dull night at the Apex in Las Vegas was the debut of Charly Arnolt as ring announcer. Since the promotion started over 30 years ago, they have never had a female voice announce fighters to the cage.
Arnolt, a former WWE talent, was working as a backstage interviewer at the event when announcer Joe Martinez began to feel under the weather during a fight which he had already introduced. She considered turning down the opportunity when approached, but opted to do it and make history in the process.
Arnolt has been working with the UFC among a number of other TV gigs since leaving WWE in 2021, where she reported under the name Charly Caruso. And she was given an opportunity to go where no woman has before during last night’s broadcast.
Charly Arnolt admits she almost turned down historic UFC ring announcer role
In an Instagram story post following the event, Arnolt told fans: “I can’t sit down because I’m on, like, this adrenaline high. Thank you everybody for the support, I’m literally overwhelmed, you guys are so awesome.
“I’m going to put up a video tomorrow talking about how everything went down tonight because, just to be honest, I almost said no to doing the announcements. I almost said no, and now I’ve made history, that is so f***ing cool!” In a tweet after the event, she added: “YA’LL. I AM SHAKING!! What an experience that was!”
The TV host is known for her work on Fox News as a political commentator, as well as OutKick Sports and donning the cover of Maxim Magazine. Her role in WWE saw her interviewing wrestlers backstage and hosting professional wrestling shows.