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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Matt Erickson

Ailin Perez shoots her shot with Kayla Harrison callout after UFC 302

NEWARK, N.J. – Ailin Perez beat Joselyne Edwards with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 302 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Take a look inside the fight with Perez, who won for the third straight time, then dropped her signature twerk into her post-fight celebration.

Ailin Prez, post-fight

Ailin Prez

Ailin Perez def. Joselyne Edwards

Result: Ailin Perez def. Joselyne Edwards via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Updated records: Perez (10-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC), Edwards (13-6 MMA, 4-4 UFC)
Key stats: Edwards essentially doubled up on Perez in total strikes, 130-68, but Perez landed six takedowns on her way to her third straight unanimous decision.

Jun 1, 2024; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Ailin Perez (red gloves) fights Joselyne Edwards (blue gloves) during UFC 302 at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Perez on the fight's key moment

“This is the work that we put in for three months. I worked out at Goat Shed, and if we had not worked the way we did, this wouldn’t have been accomplished. I knew this was going to be a tough fight and we manifested this. I talked to my team and I said, ‘We are going to win by decision because she’s tough.’ She really lasted. But I know that I was always going to be looking for a knockout. She is very experienced. She’s tough. I was always going to be looking for a knockout, but knew that was going to be winning by decision.”

Perez on her dramatic history with Edwards

“After the incident happened at the (UFC Performance Institute), I was very clear and I was sure that I was at peace and I was not the aggressor. I had faith and peace that I was not the one that started that. She knows that she started this. When the fight ended, before the results, I went up to her and I said, ‘Listen, I don’t know if I won. I don’t know if you won. But whatever happens here, it’s in our past. It’s done. It’s done. It manifested the other way, but it doesn’t matter. Let’s leave it in the past.’ The revenge happened. I was able to avenge it, and that’s what happened. My goal is not to beat Jocelyn. My goal is to have the result that I have by beating her.”

Perez on what she wants next

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 13:Kayla Harrison celebrates defeating Holly Holm during their bantamweight fight at T-Mobile Arena on April 13, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

“I’m not a wrestler. I’m not a judo girl. I’m not somebody that’s a specific wrestler. What I’m doing, I’m training everything that I can so I can get better, uh, and I got a lot of heart. … I’m not ranked, but I think today I showed that I’m ready. That’s why I want a stellar fight, because I have the cardio to fight the five rounds, and I have the ovaries, too. Come on, Dana White – give me the stellar fight! What are you waiting for? Come on, man!”

To hear more from Perez, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

UFC 302 photos

UFC 302 weigh-in photos

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