Preview: UFC Fight Night 202 Prelims

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Bantamweights

NR | Jonathan Martinez (14-4, 5-3 UFC) vs. NR | Alejandro Perez (22-8-1, 8-3-1 UFC)

ODDS: Martinez (-225), Perez (+185)

The bantamweight winner on Season 1 of “The Ultimate Fighter Latin America,” Perez’s UFC career has mostly flown under the radar. It was an inauspicious start for “Turbo,” who suffered a quick submission loss to Patrick Williams in his first post-reality series fight, but Perez then put together a seven-fight undefeated streak that did not get much in the way of headlines. A lot of that was due to the style with which Perez eventually found success. While he had his moments, the Mexican mostly got by via neutralizing his opponents with a frustrating approach from range. Then came 2019, which seemed to halt whatever momentum Perez possessed. He found himself outmatched against Cody Stamann over the course of 15 minutes, then got absolutely obliterated by top prospect Yadong Song in a shade over two minutes. Perez then became a forgotten man due to a two-year absence, but he did at least get back to his winning ways against Johnny Eduardo in October, relying on his wrestling and grappling to find an armbar submission. He will look to build on that momentum in this outing. Martinez has been a frustrating prospect to track thus far, as he has yet to consistently channel his talent, both across and within fights. “Dragon” can hold his own anywhere but also tends towards extreme patience at times, operating only in bursts of offense that often leave him open defensively. When Martinez is fully on his game, he can put on a showcase performance—see his wins over Frankie Saenz and Thomas Almeida—but nearly every step forward seems to give way to a frustrating loss. Given that Perez is not a huge one-punch finisher, Martinez should be able to win this based on activity. With that said, Perez also figures to get away with a lot of his neutralizing style and should make this an ugly fight. The pick is Martinez via decision.

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