Alex Perez dominated in the grappling department en route to a D’Arce choke finish at UFC Fight Night 123 on Saturday.
In a night full of bantamweight warfare, Carls John de Tomas and Alex Perez kept the spotlight on the 135lb class at UFC Fresno. Perez, who was first noticed on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series, was making his UFC debut in the bout.
Carls John de Tomas, meanwhile, was looking for his first UFC win in his sophomore outing — and fighting stateside for the first time. The fighter from the Philippines lost his UFC debut earlier in 2017, falling to Naoki Inoue at UFC Fight Night 111.
As de Tomas vs. Perez unfolded, what we got was a submission grappling clinic from Alex Perez. Almost completely dominant in the first round, Perez used his wrestling to set up a number of submission attempts, including a D’arce choke that came very close to securing a finish. de Tomas would survive, but could do little more. A guillotine attempt followed; de Tomas made it through the round, and finished on his feet, pressing Perez into the cage, but he never really got going.
Round two saw Perez working from the back instead of the front, but it was more dominance in the grappling department. A big knee to the midsection then softened de Tomas up; that was followed by Perez moving back into position for a front choke. Another D’Arce choke attempt followed, and this time, de Tomas was forced to tap!
After the bout, Perez announced he would return to his natural 125lb weight class.
Alex Perez def. Carls John de Tomas by submission (D’Arce choke), Round 2, 1:54
