A flyweight clash pitting Muhammad
Mokaev against Alex Perez is
on tap for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s inaugural visit to
Saudi Arabia.
Multiple outlets confirmed the pairing on Wednesday following an
initial
announcement from Perez’s management, Iridium Sports Agency.
The UFC Fight Night event is expected to be held at Boulevard Hall
in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 2. A headliner for the card has
not been announced.
With victories in his first five promotional appearances, the
23-year-old Mokaev is one of the rising stars in the UFC’s
flyweight division. In his last outing, “The Punisher” submitted
former title challenger Tim Elliott
with an arm-triangle choke in the third round of their matchup at
UFC 294. Mokaev has won four of his five UFC fights by way of
submission.
Perez hasn’t competed since suffering a first-round submission
defeat against current 125-pound champ Alexandre
Pantoja at UFC 277 in July 2022. That was preceded by a title
fight loss to Deiveson
Figueiredo at UFC 255 in November 2020. The Team Oyama product
has dealt with numerous bout cancellations — for a multitude of
reasons — over the course of the past three years.