Ailin Perez believes 2026 is the year she fights for a UFC championship.
The streaking UFC women’s bantamweight contender plans to capitalize on her momentum this 2026, and get herself in a title fight – whether it’d be for an interim belt or the undisputed. On the heels of a five-fight winning streak, Perez (12-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) returns to the cage this Saturday at UFC Fight Night 268 (Paramount+), which takes place Saturday at Arena CDMX in Mexico City.
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She’s confident that this run, plus a win over TUF 28 champion Macy Chiasson (10-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC), could get her in a prime position start thinking about a title bout.
“Look, I’m going to win February 28th, I’m going to beat Macy, then I’m going to ask for a fight in June – one that leaves me fighting for the belt – so that in December, I can take the title from the champion. That’s my plan,” Perez told Hablemos MMA in Spanish.
Perez is very confident that Amanda Nunes will fall short in trying to get the title against champion Kayla Harrison, should she be able to return following her neck surgery. The Argentinian sees herself fighting Harrison or for an interim belt should the Harrison-Nunes fight get prolonged.
“I think if Kayla Harrison is able to make her return, I’ll end up fighting with her in December,” Perez said. “Now, if Kayla Harrison is not able to make a return, I’ll end up fighting Norma or the winner of Norma (Dumont) and Yana (Santos) for the interim. That’s what I feel.”
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Perez is one of the newer names that’s made noise at 135 pounds. Yes, her win streak has been a big part of it, but she’s also stood out with her trash talk and dancing in her post-fight interviews. “Fiona” admits there’s been frustration on her part due to the lack of promotion and activity in her division over the past few years.
“I don’t care if they promote or not, what I do care about is that they fight and not act like cowards,” Perez said. “They win a spot on the rankings, they sit on their ass, and they don’t do anything more – they don’t even train. There are others who are all day in the spa, doing Botox and face surgeries. Girl, you need to go train because there are other fighters who want to fight, too. If you don’t want to fight, just leave the UFC. That’s how I feel. I feel they’re a bunch of cowards, and they make the division very irrelevant. It’s hard to be a star like I am when nobody wants to fight me. It’s extremely difficult. That’s why I’m always trying to fight with the legends.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Ailin Perez envisions herself earning UFC title shot by December
