Exclusive: Matheus Nicolau talks new opponent after Manel Kape's pull-out, addresses concerns about Alex Perez's weight-cut issues

Matheus Nicolau recently opened up about his upcoming fight against Alex Perez at UFC Vegas 91 later this month. The Brazilian also addressed concerns about Perez's weight-cut issues.

Nicolau was initially booked to face Manel Kape on April 27 in an exciting flyweight contest. However, Kape was recently forced to pull out of the bout due to a rib injury and had to undergo surgery. After the Angolan-born Portuguese withdrew, the promotion replaced him with Perez, who will now go up against Nicolau.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Nicolau was asked if he was offered anyone else apart from Perez. The Brazilian pointed out that most top-ranked flyweight contenders were injured or unavailable and said:

"He's [Perez] the only one that my manager came back to me and said is an opportunity to fight. We talked about [Muhammad] Mokaev but we have Ramadan now, so I doubt he would be able to get it. Also, [Brandon] Royval, as I know, is injured after his fight against [Brandan] Moreno. All of the guys on top of me in the rankings, they are all busy or injured."

He continued:

"Moreno said he needs a little retirement, little vacation. Kai Kara [Kara-France], I think, is still injured, and [Amir] Albazi is also still injured. So, Perez was the fight that made sense, they offfered to us and right away we accepted."

Catch Matheus Nicolau's comments below (1:34):

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Matheus Nicolau addresses Alex Perez's weight-cut issues

In the same interview, Matheus Nicolau opened up about Alex Perez's issues making weight before fights.

Unfortunately, the American has dealt with a series of fight cancelations over the past few years. He's had about ten fights scrapped since 2020, seeing fights against high-profile flyweights like Kai Kara-France, Amir Albazi, Askar Askarov, and Matt Schnell fall through for various reasons.

Most recently, Perez's fight against Kape was called off at the last minute after he suffered seizures backstage while warming up. However, he later clarified that his medical issue had nothing to do with his weight cut.

Speaking to Sportskeeda MMA, Nicolau addressed Perez's string of bad luck over the past few years and said:

"This has crossed my mind, but I think he just fought recently, so I think he's still in fighting shape. With an opportunity like this, to do the main event, I don't think he's going to screw with that. I think he's going to do his part of the deal and I hope he comes in on weight all good and do an excellent fight." [5:02]