Frankie Perez of Howell Township looks to win big this weekend.
The 28-year-old Perez will be in the ring at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Fight Night: Weidman vs. Gastelum (UFC on Fox 25) on July 22.
Perez wants to add another victory to his 10-3-0 mixed martial arts (MMA) record as he prepares to enter the Octagon against Chris Wade (11-3-0) in a lightweight division contest on the event’s early preliminary card to be shown on UFC Fight Pass.
The Perez vs. Wade bout will take place on the early preliminary card of UFC on Fox 25 Saturday from Long Island. The main event is Chris Weidman vs. Kevin Gastelum. The early preliminary bouts will be shown on UFC Fight Pass, the preliminary card will be broadcasted on Fox Sports 1 and the main card will be nationally televised on Fox.
“I am extremely excited for this fight, I am as excited for this fight as I was fighting Sam Stout,” Perez said.
Perez defeated Stout by technical knockout (TKO) 54 seconds into the first round of their fight at UFC Fight Night 74 in August of 2015. Stout was not only Perez’s first win in the UFC but also one of his favorite all-time fighters. Perez referred to it as a “dream fight.”
Perez has a slight height and reach advantage over Wade. Perez stands 5 feet and 11 inches tall and has a reach of 73 inches. Wade stands at 5 feet and 10 inches and has a reach of 70 inches.
However, Perez’s lone pre-UFC loss was against Wade in May of 2014. The two fought at Ring of Combat 48, where Perez lost by a split decision.
This is the first time the two fighters will go one-on-one in the UFC.
“There is no bad blood. I really do not know [Wade] personally, but this is more a personal goal for myself than anything” Perez said. “I feel — and a lot of people that watched the fight feel — like I won the fight.”
The Howell resident is a brown belt in Jiu-Jitsu and is a self-proclaimed perfectionist. He felt like he was properly trained and prepared for Wade’s wrestling and kickboxing heading into their 2014 contest, despite the outcome not being in his favor.
“That whole fight went exactly how we thought it was going to go,” Perez said. “Anything that happened in that fight that helped him out was because I initiated everything. I was the aggressor with the hands, I was the aggressor with the wrestling. The only time he would do anything is if he reversed me, if I made a mistake and he capitalized on it. Nothing he did to score was initiated by him.”
However, three years later, both men are at very different points in their respective careers. Perez took time off from the sport after defeating Stout in August 2015. He returned to the UFC this past December but lost his return bout against Marc Diakiese by unanimous decision.
Wade fought three times in 2016 but is coming off back-to-back losses — both by unanimous decision.
“We are two completely different fighters now; we have evolved,” Perez said. “I feel like I have become a better fighter. I have been able to adjust to my opponents. I am able to fight lefty, I am able to fight righty, I could wrestle, I could grapple, I could put everything together. I feel he is really one dimensional and does not put things together very well, and when you attack him, he is still afraid to get hit. I think I am going to just put the pressure on him and come out there and push the pace the entire fight.”
Perez feels like he is way ahead of schedule in training camp and after taking time off, he is ready to dedicate his life to the sport again and “just have fun with it.”
“I do not see myself ever losing again in the UFC Octagon. Mentally, I am just a different animal now. I am just not beating myself over the head with MMA anymore. I go into practice, I give 100 percent and I have fun with it,” Perez said.
Besides having fun, Perez has made it clear he is “definitely looking to make some noise and make a run” in the UFC and plans to start with his upcoming fight.
“I am going to put my head down and really try to make a run at this in the next two years. If I could fight two or three more times this year, that would be great,” Perez said.
The Howell native added that weight class does not matter to him.
“If there is a fight for me and it makes sense, I’m down,” he said.
Perez said that he feels like the lightweight division is at a standstill.
“The lightweight division is so crazy. The whole UFC is just crazy right now,” he said. “Before it used to be who the best fighter was, and the best fighters fought the best fighters. Now it is more of a show.”
The UFC lightweight champion, Conor McGregor, is currently training to fight Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match on Aug. 26. There is uncertainty whether McGregor will return to the Octagon to defend the title or retire from combat sports after the Mayweather fight, which reportedly could be a $100 million payday for McGregor.
“The belt is the idea, it is the goal, right? So what are these guys supposed to do if the guy that has the belt is over here making movies and boxing?” Perez asked. “What are these guys going to fight each other for a couple more years and not fight for the belt?”
McGregor has not defended the championship since winning it at UFC 205 in November by defeating Eddie Alvarez.
“It eats me alive that [McGregor] knocked out my teammate, [Alvarez], because I trained with Eddie that whole entire camp, fighting lefty and fighting like Conor. That killed me,” Perez said.
Perez plans to continue training — working out two to three times a day, six days a week — in hopes of one day capturing a UFC championship.
Perez also spends time meditating because, he said, “this sport takes a toll on you physically, definitely, but more mentally.”
“We as fighters put so much time and ingenuity into this. It is sacrificing our lives, time with our family, girlfriends, wives, kids, to get not that much back,” Perez said. “I stay away from any kind of negative person, product, comment, statement — anything. I do not let it get to me at all. I just look right over it.”
