Alex Perez wants to fight Askar Askarov at UFC 249: Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson

Alex Perez is on a roll. After losing to current #1 contender Joseph Benavidez back in November 2018, Perez bounced back like a true fighter, with two back to back wins on his next two outings.

In his most recent fight, he submitted Jordan Espinosa on Saturday during the pair's main card bout at UFC on ESPN+ 24 in Raleigh, N.C. During a backstage interaction with MMA Junkie, Perez spoke in detail about the fight, and his plans for the future.

Speaking about the fight, Perez said that although the position he caught Espinosa in before applying the submission wasn't really perfect, he went ahead with it because he felt that it was locked in tight.

“The position I got him with was a little unorthodox, but I just felt that it was tight enough, so I kept my squeeze going and put him out. I practice my squeeze all the time. I burn my arms out and then go through those sequences. I was ready if he survived. I was ready for war. But I’ll take this for sure.”

Perez is overjoyed to start off the new year with a big win against Espinosa and he thanked his team for getting him prepared ahead of the fight.

“(It) feels great to kick off the year like this. Jordan is great – probably one of the tougher opponents I’ve had to go up against. His style is crazy. Thank you to my team – my training partners and camp were amazing for this one. ”

The UFC flyweight has an opponent as well as a date in mind for his next Octagon outing.

“I’d like Askar Askarov next. He’s a wrestler, I’m a wrestler, and we both like to stand, so why not? I’d love to get on that Khabib (Nurmagomedov) vs. Tony Ferguson card. That’d give me a little break, and then come back ready to work.”