We’re not quite sure how to describe Ailin Perez’s weekend at UFC Paris, but it was eventful.
The Argentine mixed martial artist became the subject of some concern Friday when she reported for weigh-ins clearly looking like she had just suffered a brutal weight cut. She was visibly trembling and needed a beat to raise her arms for a flexing photo op.
The weight cut didn’t prevent Perez from missing weight, as she came in a half-pound over the 136-pound limit at bantamweight. The fight against Darya Zheleznyakova went on as a catchweight, with Perez forfeiting 20% of her purse to her opponent.
The fight went better for Perez than the weigh-in. Late in the first round, in which Perez landed seven significant strikes and two takedowns, she got Zheleznyakova to tap out with an arm triangle.
What she did next was, well, expressive.
Twerking has become a signature for Perez, but doing that to an opponent who agreed to go forward with your fight after you missed weight is quite a choice. At least one fighter also enjoyed seeing Perez struggle with her weight, as Tracy Cortez mocked her on X after Perez criticized Cortez for cutting her hair to make weight in July.
Perez might have been looking to make a statement with the win given that she said Zheleznyakova had been trashing her skills before the fight:
“It didn’t bother me, but it did tough my ovaries,” Perez said. “Fighters who talk badly about me end up paying for it in the cage. You can ask Joselyne Edwards. I know I didn’t knock her out, but I hit her quite badly in the striking. Darya is completely wrong, and I’m going to show it in the cage. The more she underestimates me the more dangerous I get.”
However it happened, the win was Perez’s fourth straight and improved her record to 11-2, with seven wins by finish.
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