An already promising flyweight match-up between ranked 125lb’ers Alex Perez, a former title challenger, and Manel Kape, an ex-RIZIN champ, became even more intriguing in the lead-up to UFC San Antonio.
At Friday’s ceremonial weigh-in, a shoving match between the two broke out — with Kape alleging that Perez had planted spies in his camp.
That certainly added a bit of drama to Saturday’s contest. Unfortunately, as the UFC San Antonio prelims were underway, the bad news arrived: due to medical issue with Perez, the fight was cancelled.
UFC officials announced the news with the preliminary card already well underway. The fight is the third to be scratched from the UFC San Antonio card in just three days. Hailey Cowan vs. Tamires Vidal fell off the line-up on Thursday, while during Friday’s weigh-in, Manuel Torres, paired up in lightweight action against Trey Ogden, was forced out of that fight.
Perez has now seen nine fights fall through since May of 2021, often on short notice. The nature of Perez’s medical issue was not disclosed. Both fighters successfully made weight on Friday.
UFC San Antonio, at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, TX, is headlined by bantamweight action as Marlon “Chito” Vera takes on Cory Sandhagen.
