"I know about your snitches" - When Alex Perez was accused of spying by Manel Kape during faceoff
Former UFC flyweight world title challenger Alex Perez will face undefeated Japanese rising star Tatsuro Taira in the main event of UFC on ESPN on June 15 inside the UFC APEX Center in Las Vegas.
It's been a long road to the main event for Perez, who last headlined a UFC card in a losing effort to former divisional kingpin Deiveson Figueiredo in 2020. After his world title loss to 'Deus da Guerra', Alex Perez lost two more bouts back-to-back before resurging with a marvelous KO of Matheus Nicolau last April.
It should be noted as well that from December 2022 to March 2023, Perez has had three scheduled bouts canceled. The most talked about was a canceled three-round battle against outspoken Angolan flyweight Manel Kape last year.
The bout was surprisingly canceled during the event, with both fighters making weight the day before. During the weigh-in, a small altercation happened between the two, with Kape saying:
"I know about your snitches!"
Check out video of the weigh-in fiasco as posted by Alex Behunin on X:
It was never proven that Kape's serious accusations were true. Furthermore, we never got to see the two settle their beef as the fight was canceled due to Perez suffering an undisclosed medical issue.
Alex Perez to face No.13 UFC flyweight Tatsuro Taira
Though he currently sits at no. 5 in the UFC flyweight rankings, Alex Perez will face a fighter eight ranks below him, no.13 Tatsuro Taira. While this may come as a surprise to some, considering their gap in rankings, just one look at Taira's record and you'd understand.
Taira is an absolute monster of a flyweight with more than half of his wins coming via stoppage. Debuting in 2022 with a dominant UD win over Carlos Candelario, the Japanese rising star capped off that year with a Performance of the Night submission win over C.J. Vergara.
Taira followed it up with three straight wins over Jesus Santos Aguilar, Edgar Chairez, and Carlos Hernandez in 2023. Perez will be his most high-profile opponent to date, being that the Mexican-American fighter is a former world title challenger and a three-time Performance of the Night bonus winner.