Former Tiger wrestler gets his first fight with UFC - at Save Mart Center Dec. 9
Perez and UFC announced recently that the former Tiger wrestler would get his first bout, and it’s going to be in the Lemoore athlete’s backyard, at the Fresno State Save Mart Center on Dec. 9, 2017.
“It means a lot to me to get my first fight,” Perez told The Leader Monday night. “I’ve been waiting a long time and because it’s in Fresno makes it that much better.”
Tickets are scheduled to go sale Oct. 20 and can be purchased through the UFC website at www.ufc.com. Perez’s match will be one of six that night, and he’s scheduled to face a Philippines fighter, Carls John De Tomas, who brings an 8-1 record into the fight. Perez sports an 18-4 mark.
The UFC is an American mixed martial arts organization based in Las Vegas and features the top-ranked fighters in the sport.
Perez is the first Lemoore athlete to earn a UFC contract, and he got it by fighting in the UFC’s “Dana White Tuesday Night Contender Series” held Aug. 8 in Las Vegas. The weekly show highlights up and coming contenders and features five matches. Winners aren’t guaranteed contracts, so a fighter needs to impress the judges.
Perez was the only fighter that night to earn a contract.
Most recently, Perez was the 2014 MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) Tachi Palace 125-pound champion. Championships, whether on the wrestling mat or in the ring, come relatively easy to Perez. In high school, under the tutelage of Lemoore High School’s Marcio Botelho, a one-time wrestling champ himself, Perez was a three-time West Yosemite League champ, two-time Divisional champ and was ranked in the state’s top 12 wrestlers in his weight class.
“I started wrestling in the sixth grade and from there began wrestling in middle school and then high school,” remembered Perez. “My brothers started wrestling, so we just made it a family thing.”
After watching a few of his friends train in MMA, Perez, thanks to his wrestling background, thought that maybe he could compete. “I just saw some friends training, and I wanted to try it,” he said. “I didn’t want to regret that I didn’t try.”
Ultimately the talented athlete won the Tachi Palace 125-pound title, compiling a 14-2 record. “I fought all over California.”
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