“I found out that his opponent was hurt on Wednesday morning and I texted my manager,” Perez recalled. “I said, ‘Benavidez’ guy is out. I’ll fight him at ’35. I can’t make ’25.’”
Wait a second. He wanted to fight Benavidez, the number three flyweight in the world, that Saturday?
“Yeah, why not,” he said. “It’s my job to fight.”
That’s the kind of attitude that separates the men from the boys in this sport, and while Perez didn’t get that fight in Denver, he will get Benavidez this Friday in Las Vegas. It’s a chance to skyrocket from the number 12 spot at 125 pounds, but if you ask Perez about getting put into the title conversation, he doesn’t plan on skipping the line.
“There’s a lot of people who have put in their time and have a lot of fights,” he said. “It (a win over Benavidez) might put me in the top ten, top five, but who knows. Jussier Formiga beat (Sergio) Pettis, so he should be in line for the next title shot, but we’ll see what happens. Whatever the UFC wants, I’m down for. I don’t pick and choose.”
Again, Perez makes it clear with his words and actions that he’s the real deal in the toughest of sports. Maybe it’s what comes with taking the long road to the UFC, but just because he’s here now, that doesn’t mean the 26-year-old is going to change the way he thinks and acts.
