A new flyweight fight pitting Manel Kape against Alex Perez is in the works for the upcoming UFC Fight Night card on March 25 in San Antonio, Texas.
Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Friday.
The fight came together after Perez was pulled from UFC 284 once his original opponent Kai Kara-France was forced out due to injury. As a result, Perez didn’t get a replacement opponent for the card in Australia but instead will fight closer to home with the March event in Texas instead.
Perez is looking to bounce back from two straight losses in a row after he fell to reigning UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figureido and Alexandre Pantoja in back-to-back fights. Prior to those setbacks, Perez had rattled off three wins in a row, including a victory over Jussier Formiga that helped him secure a 125-pound title shot.
As for Kape, the former RIZIN fighter will look to build on his three-fight win streak, which includes his victory over David Dvorak in his most recent outing at UFC Vegas 66. Kape has looked very impressive over his last few wins, which also include a pair of knockouts over Zhalgas Zhumagulov and Ode Osbourne.
The upcoming UFC card on March 25 is still coming together with a main event to be determined.
Mike Heck contributed to this report.