Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. Due to an injury replacement, Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight
Matt
Schnell now finds himself in a matchup against a top-ranked
foe.
ESPN Deportes first reported the news on Wednesday night that
Askar
Askarov (14-0-1) has been forced out of his pairing with
Alex
Perez (24-6) due to a broken hand. The two flyweights were set
to dance at
UFC on ESPN 27 on July 31, but as a result, Matt
Schnell (15-6) will be entering and the bout will be shifted to
the
UFC Fight Night event on Aug. 28. Perez and Schnell were
originally slated to meet at UFC 262, but the scrap fell through
and Schnell stayed on the card in a losing effort.
Schnell, who has lost two of his last three to Alexandre
Pantoja and Rogerio
Bontorin dating back to late 2019, will be taking on the
sixth-ranked flyweight Perez on relatively short notice. As
mentioned above, Schnell was once booked versus Perez, and Bontorin
stepped in as the replacement up a weight class and defeated
Schnell by unanimous verdict – Bontorin did miss weight ahead of
that May bout. Throughout his UFC tenure, Schnell has jumped
between bantamweight and flyweight on several occasions, making his
promotional debut at 135 pounds against current top contender
Rob
Font.
Perez fell short in his first title opportunity when he was tapped
out by Deiveson
Figueiredo in November in just under two minutes. In the
process, Perez did become the first fighter out of Dana White’s Contender Series to vie for UFC
gold. On his way up, Perez finished Jose
Torres, Jordan
Espinosa and Jussier
Formiga all in the first round, but likewise fell short in the
opening frame to Joseph
Benavidez and Figueiredo.
The UFC Fight Night event on Aug. 28 will go down at the UFC Apex
in Las Vegas, with a potential featherweight barnburner as the
marquee matchup when Edson
Barboza comes to blows with Giga
Chikadze. The current co-main event sees the unbeaten Sean Brady
square off with former lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee at
welterweight, while Ketlen
Vieira vs. Sara McMann
at bantamweight likely gains main card placement.
