UFC Vegas 91 Results & Recap: Alex Perez Jumps Into Top 5 Flyweights With Knockout of Matheus Nicolau

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Las Vegas, April 28: Alex Perez surged up the flyweight rankings with a second-round stoppage win over Matheus Nicolau in the main event during UFC Vegas 91: Nicolau vs. Perez at the UFC Apex Facility in Las Vegas on Saturday (April 27).

The 13-fight card saw 7 fights, including the headliners, end in stoppage, while six fights went the distance. Among the 7 stoppage wins, five were either knockouts (KO) or technical knockouts (TKO), and two were submission finishes.

While there was no fight of the night award in UFC Vegas 91, four fighters, including the headliners Perez and Bogdan Goskov, earned performance bonuses for their respective stoppage wins on the card.

Apart from Perez and Goskov, Jhonata Diniz and Uros Medic also took home an extra USD50K for their respective knockout wins on the main card. Here is the recap for the UFC on ESPN 55 event:

UFC Vegas 91 Recap

A pair of top ranked flyweights No. 5 ranked Nicolau and No. 8 ranked Perez put on an electric performance of sharp, fast-paced striking in the main event of the night.

Back and forth sniper fire extended into the second round, where Perez came out with a beautiful game plan, knocking out Nicolau against the cage midway through the round to enter the top 5 in the UFC flyweight division.

"It feels great. Everyone counted me out because I had three losses. Three weeks' notice, any time, any place! I don't get paid to sit on the couch, I get paid to fight.

"Everyone's always on me because all I do is train. This is why I do it, because I get an extra $50k, right, for that knockout?" Perez said at the post-fight Octagon interview.

An entertaining co-main event saw light heavyweight finishers go at it with a vengeance, as No. 11 ranked Ryan Spann and Guskov collided at the Apex facility in Las Vegas.

Spann smartly used takedowns and ground control to edge out the first, but Guskov came back with heavy hands in the second, knocking down Spann and throwing punches until the referee called off the fight.

Guskov, who launched into the rankings, said, "My feeling is perfect. I'm coming to put on a big show. Like this, we're going to the top! Second round was my round.

"I gave a little bit to him in the first, but the second I showed everything. Remember this name: Bogdan 'Carevich' Guskov! Everybody wants to be in the top, and now I'm here."

Also on the main card, Karine Silva and David Onama dominated their respective opponents across three rounds to take home a decision win, while Diniz and Medic claimed stoppage wins over Austen Lane and Tim Means in their respective bouts.

In a bantamweight bout that closed the preliminary card, Victor Henry took on veteran Rani Yahya, and a tense opening round ensued. Yahya landed his shots and commanded Henry to be on defense.

But the second round turned the tide as Henry found his pace and timing, defended Yahya's shoots, and pulling ahead in the striking. The third was all Henry; he found his distance and did the damage standing and on the ground with creative, powerful striking, and got the referee's stoppage.

Also on the prelims, Austin Hubbard, Don'Tale Mayes and Ketlen Souza earned decision wins in their respective bouts after Chris Padilla and Ivana Petrovic claimed submission wins.

In the event opener, China's tough brawler Maheshate came back and with sharpness against Gabriel Benitez. Maheshate took his opponent into deep waters with his range and baits, but Benitez was wise to it and used his southpaw stance to get creative and active.

Maheshate leveled up in the third, walking down Benitez with kicks and powerful punches, delivering a full fight to the judges who gave him the split decision. Here is a look at the final results of UFC Vegas 91:

UFC Vegas 91 Results

• Flyweight Bout: Alex Perez defeated Matheus Nicolau by KO (right hand) at 2:16 of Round 2
• Light Heavyweight Bout: Bogdan Guskov defeated Ryan Spann by TKO (strikes) at 3:16 of Round 2
• Women's Flyweight Bout: Karine Silva (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) defeated Ariane da Silva by Unanimous Decision
• Heavyweight Bout: Jhonata Diniz defeated Austen Lane by KO (strikes) at 2:12 of Round 2
• Featherweight Bout: David Onama (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) defeated Jonathan Pearce by Unanimous Decision
• Welterweight Bout: Uros Medic defeated Tim Means by TKO (uppercut) at 2:09
• Bantamweight Bout: Victor Henry defeated Rani Yahya by TKO (strikes) at 2:36 of Round 3
• Lightweight Bout: Austin Hubbard (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) defeated Michal Figlak by Unanimous Decision
• Heavyweight Bout: Don'Tale Mayes (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) defeated Caio Machado by Unanimous Decision
• Women's Strawweight Bout: Ketlen Souza (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) defeated Marnic Mann by Unanimous Decision
• Lightweight Bout: Chris Padilla defeated James Llontop by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 4:33 of Round 1
• Women's Flyweight Bout: Ivana Petrovic defeated Liang Na by Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 1:29 of Round 3
• Lightweight Bout: Maheshate (29-28, 29-28) defeated Gabriel Benitez by (29-28) Split Decision