HOUSTON – Matt Schnell says declining to compete against Alex Perez at UFC 271 wasn’t an easy decision to make, but he feels comfortable it was the right call.
“The first thing I want to say is I’ve got all the respect in the world for Alex Perez,” Schnell told MMA Junkie. “I like this kid. I was very much looking forward to testing myself against him. I’ve been getting ready for him for well over a year, and no time wasted. You know, I do feel like I’ve gotten a lot better in that time because I’ve been getting ready for a guy that could really fight. The best fighters in the world, they bring the best out of me, and I felt like I was primed to perform.”
At Friday’s official weigh-ins, Perez was the fourth fighter to hit the scale, registering 128 pounds just moments into the two-hour window. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation oversees UFC events in the state and gave Perez an additional hour to cut the remaining two pounds needed to hit the non-title flyweight limit.
Perez did not return to the scales.
Meanwhile, Schnell visited the stage more than one hour later and was forced to weigh in without any clothing in order to hit 126 pounds. Schnell said getting there ended up being a little more difficult than expected.
“It’s a little funny because I came down and I stepped on the check scale, and I’m 126.2 at 6:30 in the morning,” Schnell explained. “They had me listed to go on the scale second because they were like, ‘Oh, next time he comes down here, he’ll have it.’ So I came upstairs and kind of, you know, farted around and thought that it would float. I went back downstairs, checked in on the scale, and I’m 126.4, so I had to bring my happy ass back upstairs, break a sweat. It took almost an hour, and I’m not a small flyweight, right? I had to suffer to get there.”
At that point, Schnell had a decision to make. When a fighter misses weight, his opponent must be willing to accept the bout anyway for it to proceed, and a fine is generally negotiated at that time, with the money going to the fighter who did successfully make weight.
Schnell did exactly that in a May 2021 fight with Brazilian Rogerio Bontorin, who missed the mark for a bantamweight matchup, coming in at 137 pounds – and later testing positive for a banned diuretic. Schnell took the fight anyway and wound up losing via unanimous decision. This time, he decided he wasn’t willing to overlook the miss.
“The decision was based on my 13-year fighting career, in which I’ve fought 40 sanctioned bouts, and it’s a thankless job to go out there and fight guys who miss weight,” Schnell said. “Nobody cares that you face it. Last time, Bontorin missed by one pound. The next night, when we fought, he had a 20-pound weight advantage on me. One pound to 20 pounds.
“Now would Perez have had 20 pounds on me at flyweight? Probably not, but at the minimum, a 10-pound advantage. At the minimum, he was showing up 10 pounds heavier than me, maybe 15, and I really felt like it impacted that last fight because I felt like I did enough to win that fight, and I truly believe him being so much bigger was able to sway the judges in his favor, and it just didn’t seem like the right move. If you make weight, you can have any weight advantage you want. You earn that right. When you miss weight, that changes everything.”
The Schnell vs. Perez bout has now been scheduled four separate times but has yet to come to fruition. Two months ago, it was Schnell who was ruled ineligible by Nevada State Athletic Commission doctors, though “Danger” still insists that was a mistake.
“There was absolutely no reason for that fight to be canceled, period,” Schnell said. “I have no doubt that the doctor that did it was looking out for my best interests, but he was wrong.”
Schnell declined to reveal if he was compensated for the canceled contest at UFC 271, stating he was “not at liberty” to discuss what was decided behind the scenes. However, it’s certainly unlikely he received his full show and win purse unless UFC officials were feeling especially generous during negotiations. Still, Schnell said he stands firm that he made the right decision.
“When we’re talking about fighting a top-five guy in the world, I mean, we’re talking about a very, very small margin of error,” Schnell said. “The last time Alex fought, he fought for the championship of the world, and you can go and look it up: I picked Alex Perez to beat Deiveson Figueiredo. That’s how much I think of him. I think the guy is a great fighter. I think I’m a great fighter, too. I’m willing to fight the tough fights, but this is where we are.”
Will the UFC look to book the matchup for a fifth time? That remains to be seen. Schnell (15-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC) said the promotion has not yet indicated what’s likely to happen next. He doesn’t completely rule out the idea of scheduling another fight with Perez (24-6 MMA, 6-2 UFC) but thinks perhaps the Team Oyama fighter should consider a move up to 135 pounds.
“I believe that I can probably make a quick turn,” Schnell said. “My little girl turns 2 tomorrow. I’m going to enjoy the Super Bowl. I’m going to enjoy some time with my family, but I’m a martial artist. I’ll be back in the gym, back to work, and we’ll see what shakes out. Maybe a quick turnaround? Maybe not. I have to talk to the UFC matchmaker, Mick Maynard, and see what what he’s thinking.
“I do believe that it would be in Alex’s best interest to maybe move up to ’35, where I believe that he could actually compete. I believe I can compete at ’35. Alex Perez is a great fighter. Move up to ’35 and compete there if the weight cut is so taxing, and I would prefer that just for his health. I mean, again, I’ve got respect for this guy. He’s got a young family just like I do, and I don’t want people suffering and hurting to make the weight, then coming up short and having to deal with all the mental angst that comes with that.”
Schnell knows he’s not likely to receive complete fan support for his decision, but he also thinks that it’s one any fighter should have the absolute right to make when an opponent doesn’t live up to their end of the bargain. That said, he said there’s nothing personal with Perez moving forward. Instead, Schnell just wants to regroup and get rescheduled so he can prove his value in the cage.
“I wish Alex the best; I truly do,” Schnell said. “I feel bad for him, just as much as anybody. Dude hasn’t fought since he fought Figueiredo.
“I wanted this. I wanted to walk out there and fight in front of my my adopted home city of Houston, Texas. I moved to Houston, Texas five years ago, I was 1-2 in the UFC, but I did so with championship aspirations. People can say what they want. Step on the mat with me. The guys who know me, they know I’m a real threat in this division, so I plan on getting right back to work and showing those things.”