The MMA Daily

We got ourselves an intriguing fight in the Bantamweight division, as Alejandro “Turbo” Perez takes on Jonathan “Dragon” Martinez. Coming off an excellent armbar victory over Johnny Eduardo, Perez will look to capture his second victory in four months. Having debuted in the UFC in 2014, Perez has sneakily accumulated an impressive 8-3-1 record in twelve fights. If Perez could stay healthy, he could be a factor in the Bantamweight division. Meanwhile, Martinez rebounded nicely from a knockout defeat to Davey Grant, defeating the undefeated Zviad Lazishvili by decision. A fight where his takedown defense, striking and cardio were all sharp.

As for a prediction, I’ve got Martinez winning. In a fight that will largely take place on the feet, Martinez not only has more firepower, but is the more active of the two. While Perez has shown glimpses of being a finisher, his approach is more defensively sound than it offensively. Landing a mere 3.45 significant strikes per minute, with an accuracy of 35%, Perez lacks the necessary offense to take out higher caliber opponents. Not to say Martinez is necessarily higher caliber, but he presents several issues on the feet for Perez. A more active and accurate striker, Martinez does an excellent job blending leg strikes into his attack. Known to have power, Martinez, at least in the UFC, has shown a real propensity to implement knee strikes. In fact, two knockout victories are directly attributed to a knee strike. With good cardio and takedown defense to along with his striking, Martinez can be a handful on the feet. Especially in this fight. So with that said, I predict that Martinez wins via decision.