UFC 302 is filled with a lot of big fights, but the fight with the most heat and bad blood flies under the radar.
On the preliminary card of Saturday’s event in Newark, NJ, Ailin Perez and Joselyne Edwards will finally get to throw after months of online nonsense and a heated incident that left both a sour taste. The fight between Perez (9-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and Edwards (13-5 MMA, 4-3 UFC) started not long after the two first met.
According to Edwards, a mutual friend reached out to her to see if she could help Perez get around Las Vegas since it was her first time in the city following her UFC debut in September 2022.
“When he told me his friend was Ailin Perez, I was like, ‘Hmm,’” Edwards told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “She’s in my division and the girl is problematic. I hadn’t seen her debut, which I think was short notice, but I had seen stuff online about the girl being problematic.
“Anyway, I said, ‘Okay, I’m going to be a good person. I’m well-mannered, and I’ve traveled the world and had difficulties and a lot of people have guided me and helped me, so I said, ‘Okay, yes. Give her my number. ”
Edwards didn’t like Perez much from what she saw on social media, but obliged by giving her a hand when she could, letting her know how the UFC Performance Institute worked and even introducing her to her coaches at Xtreme Couture. Edwards admits she was a bit standoffish with Perez, but she was respectful and helped her with whatever she needed. After Perez left Las Vegas, the two kept in touch somewhat and texted each other.
‘She attacked me because she is jealous’
In April 2023, a few months after their first meeting, Edwards fought and defeated Lucie Pudilova in a controversial split decision. She received a lot of hate online, but nothing bothered her more than reading Perez’s comments.
“They showed me some posts that she wrote publicly, and that’s her opinion, that’s OK,” Edwards said. “Even after my last fights she would also commentate and the way she does it, it’s like she wants to make it funny, but at the same time you’re talking nonsense. And that’s fine, that’s her opinion, but if you see me, don’t even come and say hi, because that’s hypocritical.”
Perez admitted she criticized Edwards’ decision, but said she was merely answering questions and doing so in an analytical manner. Either way, that didn’t sit well with Edwards, and their differences reached a boiling point a few months later in November when they met again at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas.
“I ran into her at the PI and she said, ‘Hey, how are you? Come over here and say hello,” Edwards said as she recalled the moments before the fight broke out. “I don’t like that hypocrisy. I told her, ‘Hey, just win your fight, because you talk a lot of nonsense. You have a big mouth.’
“She said, ‘What are you talking about?’ She didn’t remember the things she said. I said to her, “You said this and that,” and she said, “Well, that’s my opinion.” Okay, that’s her opinion, but here you are trying to hug me and say hi to me, you idiot.’
Edwards didn’t think the animosity between them would turn into a fight, and she was surprised to find herself exchanging arguments with Perez and her coach.
“I promise you I didn’t mean to fight her,” Edwards said. “It was her trainer who stirred things up and insulted me. So what happened? She said, “Well, if you’re so tough, say it to my face.”
‘I didn’t mean to hit her. I just wanted to say it to her face, so when I got close – we’re arguing – she makes a motion like she’s going to hit me, so I hit her. But she is the one who took the first step.”
Both women claim the other attacked first. Perez was left with a cut on her cheekbone that required stitches, almost jeopardizing her fight with Pudilova, which was only a few days away.
“She attacked me at the UFC PI, where I was doing my fight week to fight Lucie (Pudilova) – which I take as a cowardly move to start hitting someone who is with their team and their son,” Perez said in the Spanish to MMA Junkie. . “She didn’t have to be there. It’s my moment, my space. She attacked me because she is jealous.”
‘He strangled me’
Both Edwards and Perez acknowledge that Perez’s male trainer became involved shortly after the two started fighting. Perez said it was to stop Edwards from attacking her, and Edwards said it was to gang up on her.
‘He strangled me, and it wasn’t just to hold me down. He hurt me and tried to strangle me,” Edwards explained. “I fell forward on top of Ailin with her trainer on my back, and Alex Davis, Amanda Ribas’ trainer, he saw everything. … If two people have a fight, okay. But you as a trainer have to break things down. She has a fight, but he joined the fight instead. So he ended up on my back and wouldn’t let me go, so she (Ailin) was taken off me or ran away. I don’t really remember, and she went to security.
“Anyway, Ailin wasn’t there and he strangled me saying, ‘B*tch, I’m going to put you to sleep. B*tch, I’m gonna put you to sleep.” …Alex said he had to let me go. I was about to go to sleep, but he kept choking me, so Alex and I think Amanda Ribas’ dad took him away from me. I could barely breathe. He tried to come at me again, but they stopped him.”
UFC decides to put beef in the cage
Perez fought and defeated Pudilova that weekend in one of her best career performances. The UFC was notified of the brawl but took no disciplinary action. Instead, Perez and Edwards were given contracts to fight each other professionally just a few months later.
“This will be my highest-paid fight of my career against the easiest opponent, so I’m really happy about that,” Perez said.
‘Now she gets what she deserves. I train with another goal, which is to get revenge on her for injuring my eye. Anyway, I’ve already mentally defeated her. I won that fight with an injured eye, and I felt like Maradona.”
Perez wasn’t the only one happy with the booking. Edwards was pleased to hear that she had signed Perez as her next opponent.
“I never had her in mind, but after the incident I wanted to fight her,” Edwards said. “…I asked for it in an interview, but I never said anything to the UFC. Then my manager called me and said I was offered Ailin Perez and I said, ‘You can even sign the contract. You know that’s definitely a yes.’ I think UFC wanted to bring it together.”
The two haven’t crossed paths much all fight week as they fight next Saturday at UFC 302. The UFC, seeking to avoid incidents, assigned special security to both fighters and ensured their schedules did not overlap.
The first time Perez and Edwards met up close since their heated brawl at the UFC PI was during Friday’s clash at the UFC 302 ceremonial weigh-in. And as expected, the tension was high.
In a sport where many feuds are often fabricated for promotion and sales, Perez and Edwards have given meaning to the UFC’s motto: “as real as it gets.” Whatever happens on Saturday, both Perez and Edwards have assured their beef will not be squashed.
“No, she’s a criminal,” Perez said when asked if things could be settled after UFC 302.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s the same,” Edwards said. “I don’t plan on touching or even looking at her after the fight. The only contact we will have will be the attacks she will perform during the fight.
For more information on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s events hub for UFC 302.
The story originally appeared on MMA Junkie
