Ranked Flyweights will be looking to get themselves into title contention when they face each other in this weekend’s main event. This is due to Matheus Nicolau facing Alex Perez in this weekend’s main event.
Matheus Nicolau Coming to Make Statement at UFC Vegas 91
Nicolau is fighting for the first time in over a year after he was defeated by Brandon Royval last time in Kansas City. Matheus Nicolau was going into that fight having earned four straight victories which did include a win over UFC title contender Manuel Kape. The Brazilian has a current record of 19-3-1 with a UFC record of 7-2. He will be looking to get back into title contention with a victory over Alex Perez.
A rematch between Matheus Nicolau and Manel Kape was meant to headline the event. During the first time this rematch was meant to take place Manel Kape missed weight. Due to this, the two agreed to fight another time. However, Kape has since picked up an injury which has forced him to withdraw from this fight. Alex Perez is coming into this fight as Kape’s replacement. Alex Perez was originally being pencilled in to fight Tagir Ulanbekov in the summer. Each of these fighters has shown they deserve to be at the top of the rankings however, new talent is coming in every month. This fight is important for both fighters to cement their place at the top of the rankings.
Nicolau Skillset
Nicolau has shown he has power in his hands and shown he can get the fight done on the feet. Nicolau currently lands 54% of his significant strikes and lands 3.66 strikes per minute. He is able to land more than he absorbs as he receives 3.14 strikes per minute. This has shown as in his last two victories he landed 2 knockdowns against Matt Schnell and 1 knockdown against David Dvorak.
While he has shown he has power in his hands he has also shown his wrestling ability. Nicolau lands a takedown at an accuracy rate of 45% landing an average of 1.48 per fight. Nicolau has also used his wrestling to his advantage securing two takedowns in his victory against Manel Kape.
Prediction
I feel the later the fight gets the more this fight favours Matheus Nicolau. Perez is coming into this fight on short notice and has shown to be quite wide open. I feel Nicolau will be able to take his time and be able to make Perez pay for the errors he will make inside the octagon.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
