Ailin Perez says Harrison vs Nunes will not happen: 'I think I'm going to be fighting Amanda'
Perez doubts Kayla Harrison will be fit or make 135 for UFC 334, and says Norma Dumont messaged her after their fight to say she would "hit you again".
Ailin Perez does not think Kayla Harrison will make it to her title fight with Amanda Nunes, and says she wants to be the one who fights Nunes instead.
"My prediction is that the fight's not going to happen," Perez said on The Ariel Helwani Show. "I don't think Kayla is going to make it to the fight. I think she's not 100% with her neck yet, and I really don't think she's going to be able to make 135. I hope it doesn't happen, and I think I'm going to be fighting Amanda."
Harrison is booked to defend the UFC women's bantamweight title against Nunes at UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden on 14 November. The fight was first set for January but was postponed when Harrison needed neck surgery.
"If it does end up happening, I will be the official backup of that fight," Perez said. "Amanda specifically said that she's going to go to the gym and find me to beat me up there... She's angry with me, she probably thinks I'm an easy fight. So yeah, 100% she would fight me. If that fight never ends up happening, that's because Amanda Nunes s*** herself."
Perez beat Norma Dumont at UFC Vegas 121 on Saturday, after Dumont threw condoms at her at the weigh-ins. She said the two will never be friends, and showed a message she said Dumont sent her on Instagram after the fight.
"We're never gonna be friends. We don't like each other," Perez said. "After the fight, she actually wrote to me personally on my Instagram, and she actually told me that after the fight she's gonna find me and beat the s*** out of me. She said, 'I already hit you once and I'm going to hit you again when I see you. You already know that you didn't win.'"
Perez had already answered Dumont on Instagram after the fight.
Every UK fight result and what's next, every Friday. Get the free UK fight briefing
More MMA from Combat Sports UK
- Paul Elliott predicts early knockout of unbeaten Shamil Erdogan at ONE Fight Night 48
- Jose Aldo says Conor McGregor should return at 155: 'The division is wide open again'
- Jiri Prochazka faces unbeaten Navajo Stirling to headline UFC Qatar on 21 November
- Darren Till says not winning a UFC title is 'the thorn' he will carry for life
The UK fight briefing
The stories, results and upcoming fights worth knowing. Every Friday.
About this report
Reported by the Combat Sports UK desk. Times are UK and Irish time, and we update the report when the facts change. How we work.