Ailyn Perez criticized Kayla Harrison following her win over Jocelyn Edwards at UFC 302 on Saturday.
Perez and Edwards were looking to settle a rivalry that began with an altercation at the UFC Performance Institute in November 2023. “Fiona” withstood a blatant headbutt from Edwards to win a unanimous decision in a bantamweight preliminary bout at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The Argentine star then took on two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison.
Perez elaborated on the call, noting that former Professional Fighters League lightweight champion Harrison is currently a major influence in the division, and that Perez would like to fight Harrison in the main event, which would be the Argentine’s first career five-round bout.
“Yes, I called out Kayla Harrison’s name in the interview,” Perez said during the post-fight media segment. “Her name is ringing in the ring in this division right now, and it’s going to make my name ring a lot better in the future. I want that fight, I want to fight her, I want to be in the main event. I have the cardio and the heart to go five rounds, and I have big ovaries. Dana, give me this fight. I deserve it.”
Perez said many fighters avoid Harrison, an Olympic judoka, because of his impressive skill set, but Perez would pivot quickly to face Harrison.
“All the girls seem to be afraid of Kayla Harrison because of her strength, experience, power, ground game and submissions,” Perez said, “But I’m going to train and be ready for this fight. I’m going to go in prepared and I want to prove that I can win in five rounds, and I hope to do that as soon as possible, say in a couple of months or maybe sooner.”
Perez, currently unranked at bantamweight, has won three consecutive unanimous decision bouts since suffering a submission loss to Stephanie Egger in her UFC debut in September 2022. Meanwhile, Harrison is coming off a submission win over former champion Holly Holm in her promotional debut at UFC 300 in April.
