UFC Fight Night 166: Blaydes vs Dos Santos - Predictions and Picks

#3 Jordan Espinosa vs. Alex Perez

Alex Perez has plenty of power in his hands

The UFC doesn’t often showcase their men’s Flyweight division – even top contenders like Jussier Formiga and Deiveson Figueiredo have been relegated to the prelims over recent years – so it’s very surprising to see this 125lbs tilt on the main card, especially when you consider that Espinosa is coming off a loss to Matt Schnell in his last fight.

Both of these men are more grappling-based fighters; Perez burst onto the scene with a pair of anaconda choke wins in 2017, but in his UFC fights he’s mainly displayed his excellent striking skills; he showed brutal punching power in his knockout win over Jose Torres in 2018 and comfortably outstruck Mark De La Rosa in his last victory.

Espinosa meanwhile is 14-6 overall, but has much less UFC experience than Perez and has just one win in the promotion. His highlight reel suggests an excellent offensive fighter, but it’s worth noting that further footage points at the fact that he’s mostly flash, throwing a lot of low-percentage moves that do a ton of damage if they come off, but don’t always work.

For me Perez is the more polished fighter here; he’s the better wrestler, and even if both men have plenty of submissions on their ledgers, I suspect he’s the better grappler too. You can’t count Espinosa out because Perez was KO’d at the hands of Joseph Benavidez in 2018 and isn’t the best defensive fighter, but then his wrestling could be a big equalizer if he gets hurt.

Can he pull out a finish? I’m not too sure, but I’m quite confident that this should be Perez’s fight to lose.

The Pick: Perez via unanimous decision