UFC Fight Night 123 results: Alejandro Perez takes decision from Iuri Alcantara in ho-hummer

In a fight that could’ve been a barnburner, Alejandro Perez and Iuri Alcantara turned in 15 minutes that most fans would’ve considered a great opportunity to hit the bathroom or concession stand.

In the end, though, it was Perez (19-6-1 MMA, 5-1-1 UFC) who took a unanimous decision from Alcantara (35-9 MMA, 9-6 UFC) with a 30-27 score and a pair of 29-28s.

The bantamweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 123 event at Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass ahead of the rest of the card on FS1.

It took a minute for things to open up, but then both fighters traded heavy leather. After that, Alcantara tried to come forward, but put himself in danger from Perez’s heavy hands. He backed out and stayed patient looking for openings. Perez threw a big right that just missed. Three minutes in, Alcantara landed a heavy left kick to the body. In the final seconds of the frame, Alcantara went airborn for a flying knee that was just off the mark. It was the flashiest move of an otherwise uneventful first round.

Forty seconds into the second round, Perez caught an Alcantara kick and tripped him to the canvas, but let him right back up. Midway through, Perez caught another kick and used it to fire off a pair of solid punches. Moments later, though, Alcantara landed a good head kick, and a straight right hand followed. Perez failed on a takedown with a minute left, then had to dip and dive away from Alcantara’s counters with 30 seconds left.

Alcantara slipped midway through the third for arguably the most action in the round thus far. Perez went after a takedown with two minutes left, but Alcantara fought it off. With 25 seconds left, Perez knocked Alcantara down, then got a takedown just at the horn. There may have been more action in the final 30 seconds than there was the whole fight before it.

Perez ran his unbeaten streak to five fights with a 4-0-1 mark in the past two and a half years. Alcantara lost for the second straight time, giving him the first losing skid of a career that stretches back more than 14 years.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 123 results include:

• Alejandro Perez def. Iuri Alcantara via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Davi Ramos def. Chris Gruetzemacher via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 0:50
• Trevin Giles def. Antonio Braga Neto via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:27

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 123, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan contributed to this report on site in Fresno.)