Recent flyweight title challenger Alex Perez has the first dance partner for his attempt to climb back into contention.

Perez (24-6 MMA, 6-2 UFC) will take on Matt Schnell (15-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC) this spring at UFC 262. A person with knowledge of the booking confirmed the matchup to MMA Junkie following an initial report from MMA DNA. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the UFC has not yet made a formal announcement.

The UFC’s May 15 card, though not publicly announced, is likely to be UFC 262. No venue or location has been finalized.

Perez took a three-fight winning streak, including stoppages of Jordan Espinosa and Jussier Formiga, into a title shot with flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo this past November at UFC 255. A fairly sizable underdog in the fight around +250, Perez was submitted less than two minutes into the fight with a guillotine choke.

Schnell got back in the win column a little more than a month ago when he took a split decision from Tyson Nam on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi. That got him back on track after a knockout loss to Alexandre Pantoja in late 2019. Before that setback, Schnell had a four-fight winning streak that had him in title contention, himself.

With the addition, the May 15 UFC lineup now includes:

• Priscila Cachoeira vs. Gina Mazany
• Viviane Araujo vs. Katlyn Chookagian
• Alex Perez vs. Matt Schnell

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/alex-perez-vs-matt-schnell-ufc-262-may-15-mma-fight-booking-matchup

Juan Espino

Should fight: Juan Espino
Why they should fight: Much like the aforementioned Daukaus, it appears Tom Aspinall could be a future title contender in the heavyweight division, especially after putting the name of a former UFC champion on his resume.

Although Andrei Arlovski managed to put up some resistance, Aspinall eventually found his opening to finish the fight when he secured a second-round submission on the octagon legend, giving him three straight wins to begin his UFC career.

Aspinall, who is a teammate of Darren Till, said all the right things after his most notable performance to date. He said that, at 27, he’s in no rush to jump up the rankings, and would prefer to take on some more “veteran” opponents as he makes his climb toward the top.

“The Ultimate Fighter 28” winner Espino (10-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) might have less UFC experience, but he’s been around the fight game since 2009 and hasn’t lost in MMA in a decade.

Short of a big name, the 40-year-old Spaniard definitely has all the assets in what Aspinall described as his desired next opponent. And he would most certainly welcome Aspinall trying to submit him like he did Arlovski.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-fight-night-185-matchmaker-best-next-fight-tom-aspinall-chris-daukaus

Well, 2021 has been a wild year in MMA and it seems to be getting crazier.

This year has been packed with many unexpected moments in the sport and things just got a lot more wild with Mateus Santos’ submission win at Open Fighting Championship 2 in Russia.

The Brazilian picked up a strange first-round submission over Alexander Volodin while defending a tight omoplata from Volodin. Santos (15-6 MMA) put Volodin’s right leg behind his head, grabbled Volodin’s foot, then put his head to the canvas and pulled on Volodin’s right foot. The maneuver hyperextended Volodin’s foot, causing a strange toe-hold submission.

The video quickly picked up traction online. It’s definitely one of the weirdest submissions seen this year and maybe even in MMA history.

With the result, Santos snapped Volodin’s seven-fight winning streak and bounced back from a loss in September. Santos is now 4-1 in his past five performances.

Below is Santos’s odd submission win at Open Fighting Championship 2:

Still waiting for the expert breakdown of this absurd submission from Matheus Santos yesterday pic.twitter.com/DIjjmm81py

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) February 21, 2021

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/video-mateus-santos-strange-toe-hold-submission-omoplata-mma

Watch the recap and highlights from the UFC Vegas 19: Blaydes vs. Lewis main event between Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis from Saturday’s event at The Apex in Las Vegas.

TRENDING Belal Muhammad steps up to face Leon Edwards at UFC Fight Night 187 on March 13

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/ufc-vegas-19-recap-curtis-blaydes-vs-derrick-lewis

Having last fought in August of 2019, lightweight Devonte Smith was looking to get back into the Octagon with a bang when he faced Justin Jaynes at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov in early February.

With just over a minute remaining in the second round of the bout, the fight was stopped after Jaynes was unable to see out of a badly swollen eye. It was Smith’s his first win in almost exactly two years.

“I felt good,” Smith told MMAWeekly.com. “I feel like I did good considering it had been something like 536 days since (I was last) fighting. I got back in and felt like I was present, I felt like I was there, and performed like I wanted.”

While Smith would have liked to have put a definitive stamp on his return, he’s happy to have gotten the win any way it came to him.

“I didn’t really notice (Jaynes’ eye) until he got out of the choke and tried to get into my guard,” said Smith. “I (then) noticed his eye was swollen and I thought that they were going to end it because you can’t see out of your eye when it’s swollen.

“When (the referee) stopped it, I was very surprised that he stopped it, but I wasn’t mad he stopped it. A win is a win.”

Back on the winning track for the first time in a long time, Smith now turns his attention towards continuing to improve his game. He knows he needs to keep getting better should he want to work his way up the lightweight ranks in the UFC.

“I want to get better in everything: wrestling offense and defense, my striking, my boxing, my Muay Thai, every single skill,” Smith said.

“I want to get better in a great manner because the 155-pound division is very stacked. In the Top 10, Top 15, they have very big competition, so I’ve got to be on my toes, and use whatever fighter IQs to beat these guys.”

While he knows the competition only gets more difficult from here, Smith feels like with his win on Feb. 6, he’s on the right path for 2021.

“This year is better than last year because last year I didn’t fight,” said Smith. “I feel like I’m headed in a positive direction.

“(Whether I have) three or four fights this year, that’s the goal. I feel like I’m going to go in the right direction to get to that goal. I’m excited to finally be back in there instead of taking constant breaks.”

TRENDING UFC Vegas 19 results: Derrick Lewis ties record with Curtis Blaydes knockout

Derrick Lewis addresses late KO shots on Curtis Blaydes at UFC Vegas 19

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/devonte-smith-excited-for-the-year-ahead-in-the-ufc