Matheus Nicolau is favored against Alex Perez at UFC Fight Night: Nicolau vs. Perez on Saturday, April 27 in Las Vegas, Nevada. This event is one of 13 fights on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN+. Nicolau is 19-3-1 in his career, including 7-2 in the UFC, while Perez is 24-8 in his career, including 6-4 in the UFC. There are a total of 13 fights, all on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN+ at UFC Fight Night: Nicolau vs. Perez. Let’s look at the bout between Nicolau and Perez and UFC predictions.
UFC Fight Night: Nicolau vs. Perez takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, April 27 with 13 fights, all on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN+.
UFC Fight Night: Nicolau vs. Perez Betting
Matheus Nicolau (19-3-1, 7-2 UFC)
Nicolau came into the UFC with a record of 10-1-1 and he has seven wins and two losses in the UFC. He defeated Bruno Mesquita by Japanese necktie submission, John Moraga by split decision, Louis Smolka by unanimous decision, Manel Kape by split decision, Tim Elliott by unanimous decision, David Dvorák by unanimous decision, and Matt Schnell by KO; while losing to Dustin Ortiz by KO and Brandon Royval by KO. Nicolau has been a pro since 2010 and he has six wins by TKO/KO and five by submission. He has four first round finishes.
Nicolau said this to supersports.com about his upcoming fight against Perez, “He's (Perez) the only one that my manager came back to me and said is an opportunity to fight. We talked about (Muhammad) Mokaev but we have Ramadan now, so I doubt he would be able to get it. Also, (Brandon) Royval, as I know, is injured after his fight against (Brandon) Moreno. All of the guys on top of me in the rankings, they are all busy or injured. Moreno said he needs a little retirement, little vacation. Kai Kara (Kara-France), I think, is still injured, and (Amir) Albazi is also still injured. So, Perez was the fight that made sense, they offered to us and right away we accepted.”
Alex Perez (24-8, 6-4 UFC)
Perez came into the UFC with a record of 18-4 and he has six wins and four losses in the UFC. He defeated Carls John de Tomas by anaconda submission, Eric Shelton by unanimous decision, Jose Torres by KO, Mark De La Rosa by unanimous decision, Jordan Espinosa by technical submission, and Jussier Formiga by TKO; while losing to Joseph Benavidez by TKO, Deiveson Figueiredo by guillotine choke submission, Alexandre Pantoja by neck crank submission, and Muhammad Mokaev by unanimous decision. Perez has been a pro since 2011 and he has five wins by TKO/KO and seven by submission. He has 11 first round finishes.
Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Nicolau 3.66 /Perez 4.12
Striking Accuracy: Nicolau 53% /Perez 46%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Nicolau 3.14/Perez 3.14
Defense: Nicolau 66% /Perez 59%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Nicolau 1.48/Perez 2.26
Takedown Accuracy: Nicolau 45%/Perez 44%
Takedowns defended: Nicolau 93%/Perez 82%
Submission average: Nicolau 0.9/Perez 1.0
UFC Picks
Nicolau is listed as just under a 2-1 favorite in UFC odds. He is the No.5- ranked UFC flyweight contender. He has been solid in the UFC with seven wins in nine tries. He will take on Perez who is ranked No. 8. Perez has struggled of late, losing his last three fights, but all three were against very tough opponents. Nicolau plenty of power, but he has eight decision wins in his career, so not all of his fights end up in a finish. Perez is tough to take down with an 82% takedown defense rate. Perez has gone to a decision 12 times in his career.
I am a little leery about laying almost 2-1 on Nicolau, as I think Perez is a very capable fighter. I think the rounds are the best choice, as I think this fight is going to be a war that could easily go the distance. I’ll go over the rounds total as the top play in this fight.
| DATE |
FIGHTERS |
MONEY LINE |
| 04/27 |
Alex Perez |
+146 |
| Matheus Nicolau |
-185 |
| 04/27 |
Bogdan Guskov |
+158 |
| Ryan Spann |
-200 |
| 04/27 |
Karine Silva |
-165 |
| Ariane Lipski |
+131 |
| 04/27 |
Victor Henry |
-520 |
| Rani Yahya |
+362 |
| 04/27 |
Uros Medic |
-320 |
| Tim Means |
+241 |
| 04/27 |
David Onama |
+149 |
| Jonathan Pearce |
-188 |
| 04/27 |
Maheshate |
-215 |
| Gabriel Benitez |
+168 |
| 04/27 |
Liang Na |
+368 |
| Ivana Petrovic |
-530 |
| 04/27 |
Caio Machado |
-130 |
| Don'Tale Mayes |
+100 |
| 04/27 |
Ketlen Souza |
-325 |
| Marnic Mann |
+244 |
| 04/27 |
Jhonata Diniz |
-250 |
| Austen Lane |
+194 |
| 04/27 |
Michal Figlak |
-155 |
| Austin Hubbard |
+124 |
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