A presumptive #1 contender bout in the UFC men’s flyweight division is set for July.
A title shot could be on the line next month in Las Vegas.
Flyweight contenders Askar Askarov and Alex Perez are scheduled to square off on the July 31st UFC Fight Night card at the APEX. Both fighters confirmed the news following BJPenn.com’s initial report.
Askarov (14-0-1) went to a draw with current champion Brandon Moreno in his UFC debut. Since then the former ACB champ has rattled off three wins in succession against Tim Elliott, Alexandre Pantoja, and most recently former title challenger Joseph Benavidez. For someone who had a 100% finish record prior to entering the UFC, all of his fights inside the Octagon have gone the distance.
Perez (24-6) challenged Deiveson Figueiredo on short notice at UFC 255, losing his bid to become champion by first-round guillotine choke. That snapped a three-fight winning streak that included stoppages of Jussier Formiga and Jordan Espinosa. His only other UFC defeat came against Joseph Benavidez by TKO.
Current rankings have Askarov at #2 and Perez at #4, so Brandon Moreno’s first title defense figures to be against the winner of this one.
UFC Vegas 33 is headlined by a middleweight fight between strikers Uriah Hall and Sean Strickland.