Alex Perez, that anaconda choke guy, taking it one fight at a time starting with UFC on FOX 28

ORLANDO – Alex Perez asked for Eric Shelton after his first win in the UFC. He got what he wanted.

Perez (19-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Shelton (11-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) meet on the UFC Fight Pass prelims Saturday at UFC on FOX 28, which takes place at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. The card airs on FOX following those early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

But Perez calling out Shelton (as well as Matt Schnell) wasn’t something he did out of arrogance or disrespect. Instead, it was just a realistic look at where he stood in the division after one win in the UFC.

“I said two names, not out of disrespect – I just think they’re good fighters,” Perez on Wednesday told MMAjunkie in Orlando. “I want to move up this division fast, and I want to fight the best guys at my weight. I think those two guys are some of the best guys in my weight, if they’re ranked or not. I can’t go out there and ask for a top-five opponent right off the bat. These guys are coming off wins, they’re good fights, I think they’re top 20, and a good win over them can put me up there. It was nothing disrespectful on my part.”

Perez got his shot in the UFC after an anaconda-choke win over Kevin Gray on Dana White’s Contender Series. In his official UFC debut against Carls John de Tomas in December at UFC Fight Night 123, he again pulled out that anaconda choke for a win.

Perez said he doesn’t want to paint himself into a corner as being just the anaconda choke guy. If it’s there, he’ll take it, he said – like any other opportunity. (He does admit, though, that being known for that might not be the worst thing.)

So beating Shelton may or may not happen with that finish. But as long as the win happens, Perez will be satisfied. In a flyweight division that is short on contenders for champion Demetrious Johnson, Perez realizes he has to keep his eye on the prize in the near-term – but knows if he keeps it up, not too far in the future a long-term goal could be lurking.

“I’ve got long-term goals and short-term goals,” Perez said. “One of my long-term goals is obviously to be the UFC champion at this weight. Short-term goals, I just take it a fight at a time. The fight in front of me, that’s the fight I want. After this fight, I’m going to look at the next fight. I’m not going to look at four or five fights in front of me because everything gets cloudy. If you look too far ahead, you never know what’s going to happen.”

For more from Perez, check out the video above.

And for more on UFC on FOX 28, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.