Fight day medical issue forces Alex Perez out of UFC on ESPN 43 vs. Manel Kape

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Just two fights before he was scheduled to make the walk to the octagon in San Antonio, Alex Perez was announced out of his scheduled bout against Manel Kape.

According to an announcement on the broadcast, an undisclosed medical issue rendered former title challenger Perez (24-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) unable to compete in the main card flyweight bout against Kape (18-6 MMA, 3-2 UFC).

A recent string of issues preventing Perez from competing continues. Since 2021, Perez was set to fight 10 times, but only made it to the cage once. That fight was a losing effort against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 277 last July.

Issues have persisted on both Perez and his opponents’ side, making for what has to be a very frustrating stretch of his career.

Friday at ceremonial weigh-ins, tempers flared between Perez and Kape during their faceoff, prompting UFC president Dana White and security to separate the two fighters.

Kape was last in action in December, where he won a unanimous decision over David Dvorak. It is unclear if the promotion will look to rebook the matchup at a later date, or search for new opponents for both fighters.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 43.

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