According to Alex Perez,
his weight cut had nothing to do with the last-minute cancellation
of his flwyeight bout against Manel Kape
at UFC
on ESPN 43.
Advertisement
The former title challenger released a statement on social media
revealing that he suffered a seizure backstage at the AT&T
Center in San Antonio on Saturday. That led to the promotion
announcing that Perez vs. Kape had been pulled from the card during
the UFC on ESPN 43 broadcast, though specific reasons for Perez’s
withdrawal were not given at that time.
“First and foremost, I want to thank everyone for all the support
and concerns,” Perez wrote. “I was doing my pre-fight warm up and
had a seizure. I immediately received medical attention. My
hydration, electrolytes, etc were all more than adequate. This has
nothing to do with weight cut. It was one of the easiest cuts of my
career.
“I will be undergoing further testing in the upcoming weeks to
determine the cause. I would appreciate privacy. My apologizes to
my opponent and fans. Thank you to the UFC medical team for their
help and support.”
Perez has dealt with multiple fight cancellations since coming up
short in a bid for flyweight gold against Deiveson
Figueiredo in November 2020. Despite the health scare involved
with the latest instance, Kape didn’t seem to have much in the way
of sympathy for his proposed opponent.
The cause was that you were scared, and when
you are scared your whole body trembles and your reactions are
rigid and you lose control of your body. You are not a man, because
a man dies like a man https://t.co/gnu9c805Gw— マネル・ケイプ Manel Kape (@ManelKape)
March 26, 2023
“The cause was that you were scared, and when you are scared your
whole body trembles and your reactions are rigid and you lose
control of your body,” Kape wrote in response to Perez’s update.
“You are not a man, because a man dies like a man.”
It is currently unclear if Perez vs. Kape will be rescheduled for a
future event.