Compare Alex Perez vs Steve Erceg — UFC matchup breakdown
Tale of the Tape
The biometric deltas where one side genuinely has an edge.
Activity & layoff
The recency dimension Tale of the Tape doesn't carry. How active each fighter has been, and how that compares to active peers in their division.
- Alex is speeding up while opponent slows
Division percentiles below rank both fighters against the Flyweight roster (206 fighters).
Recent form
Last five pro bouts (non-UFC fights dashed + tagged), current trajectory, and the level of opposition going into this matchup.
Common opponents
The single UFC opponent both fighters have faced. Reads as a directional signal, not a verdict.
Schedule Score
Who they've faced × what they've done. Composite + components compared head-to-head, percentile-ranked against every UFC fighter w/ ≥3 resolved bouts.
Per-tier records + bout-by-bout
| Tier | Alex Perez | Steve Erceg |
|---|---|---|
| Champion | 0-2 | 0-2 |
| Top-5 | 2-2 | 1-1 |
| Top-15 | 3-2, 1 NC | 2-0 |
| Cross-div ranked | 1-0 | — |
| Building | — | 2-0 |
| Unproven | 2-0 | — |
- NC vs Sumudaerji#1465May 30, 2026 · Top-15
- W vs Charles Johnson#1364Jan 24, 2026 · Top-15
- L vs Asu Almabayev#972Nov 22, 2025 · Top-15
- L vs Tatsuro Taira#1377Jun 15, 2024 · Top-5
- W vs Matheus Nicolau#578Apr 27, 2024 · Top-5
- L vs Muhammad Mokaev#874Mar 2, 2024 · Top-15
- L vs Alexandre Pantoja#493Jul 30, 2022 · Champion
- L vs Deiveson FigueiredoCHAMP100Nov 21, 2020 · Champion
- W vs Jussier Formiga#487Jun 6, 2020 · Top-5
- W vs Jordan Espinosa#1071Jan 25, 2020 · Top-15
- W vs Mark De La Rosa36Mar 30, 2019 · Cross-div ranked
- L vs Joseph Benavidez#388Nov 30, 2018 · Top-5
- W vs Jose Torres8Aug 4, 2018 · Unproven
- W vs Eric Shelton46Feb 24, 2018 · Top-15
- W vs Carls John De Tomas8Dec 9, 2017 · Unproven
- W vs Tim Elliott#1174May 2, 2026 · Top-5
- W vs Ode Osbourne18Aug 9, 2025 · Building
- L vs Brandon Moreno#296Mar 29, 2025 · Champion
- L vs Kai Kara-France#485Aug 17, 2024 · Top-5
- L vs Alexandre PantojaCHAMP100May 4, 2024 · Champion
- W vs Matt Schnell#972Mar 2, 2024 · Top-15
- W vs Alessandro Costa15Nov 11, 2023 · Building
- W vs David Dvorak#1069Jun 10, 2023 · Top-15
All figures are 0–100 ratings (shown as %), not percentages of anything literal. Schedule strength = the average quality of every UFC opponent faced (win or lose). Win quality = the average quality of the opponents actually beaten. The composite Schedule Score combines schedule strength (65%) with win quality (35%). Per-bout opponent quality is scored on rank-at-time-of-fight (champion 100, ranks 1–5 = 90→78, ranks 6–15 = 75→60), with cross-division and P4P signals layered on, falling back to opponent UFC record-at-time for unranked opponents. For fighters with limited UFC experience the headline is held toward a rookie baseline, so debut / low-sample fighters read lower than established names. UFC ranking data is sparse before December 2018, so legacy-era fighters score from record-at-time when ranks are missing.
Career splits
Striking matchup
Each fighter's offense mapped against the other's defense — where one attacks meets where the other gets hit, across head, body, and leg. Per 15 minutes of UFC fight time.
Perez has the striking edge (+10).
Where Perez attacks (green = high volume) vs where Erceg gets hit (red = vulnerable) — Perez’s green zones meeting Erceg’s red zones are the openings.
- Head59%65th261
- Body18%62nd80
- Leg23%84th104
Color = division rank · green elite → red low · % = share of strikes
- Head58%41st284
- Body20%43rd96
- Leg22%21st106
Color = division rank · green elite → red low · % = share absorbed · partly opponent-dependent
- Standing73%324
- Clinch13%59
- Ground14%62
- Standing86%416
- Clinch9%44
- Ground5%26
Each lane: the attacker’s strike rate (offense) vs the other’s rate absorbed (defense), graded on the division. The bar leans toward whoever wins the exchange — longer + greener = a bigger, higher-quality edge.
Full breakdown — all zones, both views
| Zone | Fighter | Landed / 15 | Accuracy | Absorbed / 15 | Career landed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Alex Perez | above division average35.0 | 37% | below division average34.2 | 261 |
| Head | Steve Erceg | top 11% of division45.7 | 42% | below division average35.3 | 410 |
| Body | Alex Perez | above division average11.1 | 63% | above division average9.9 | 80 |
| Body | Steve Erceg | above division average12.1 | 70% | below division average11.9 | 101 |
| Leg | Alex Perez | top 16% of division12.7 | 73% | above division average6.3 | 104 |
| Leg | Steve Erceg | below division average6.1 | 88% | well below average12.0 | 43 |
Per-15-minute rates are sourced from UFCStats fight totals across each fighter’s UFC career. Division percentile is computed against every UFC fighter who has competed in this weight class with at least two recorded bouts. Lower “absorbed” values are better — the percentile is inverted so “top of division” always means better outcome.
Grappling matchup
Takedowns, submission threat, and control. Per 15 minutes of UFC fight time, with takedown defense as a percentage of opponent attempts stopped.
Each metric graded on the division — the bar leans toward whoever wins that part of the grappling exchange (longer + greener = a bigger edge).
Perez has the grappling edge (+18).
Full breakdown — career grappling totals
| Metric | Alex Perez | Steve Erceg |
|---|---|---|
| Takedowns landed / 15career takedowns | 2.115 | 1.19 |
| Takedown accuracycareer landed / attempted | 45%15 / 33 | 28%9 / 32 |
| Takedown defensecareer stopped / faced | 73%27 / 37 | 67%31 / 46 |
| Submission attempts / 15career attempts | 0.75 | 0.43 |
| Control time / 15 (min)career total | 4.0 min28:22 | 1.7 min13:51 |
| Time controlled by opponent / 15 (min)career total | 1.6 min10:57 | 1.8 min14:42 |
All rates computed from UFCStats fight totals across each fighter’s UFC career. Takedown defense = opponent attempts stopped ÷ opponent total attempts. Control time figures are minutes the fighter spent in a dominant position per 15 minutes of fight time. Accuracy under 8 career attempts is shown raw and ungraded — too small a sample to rate against the division.
Finishing & durability
How often each fighter ends fights early — and how often they get put away. Outcomes view, not per-minute output.
When their fights end
every pro finish on the fight clockFinish & durability rates
Full professional career
Full method breakdown
| Outcome | Alex Perez | Steve Erceg |
|---|---|---|
| Wins | ||
| by KO / TKO | 7(27%) | 2(14%) |
| by submission | 7(27%) | 6(43%) |
| by decision | 12(46%) | 6(43%) |
| Losses | ||
| by KO / TKO | 2(20%) | 1(25%) |
| by submission | 6(60%) | 0(0%) |
| by decision | 2(20%) | 3(75%) |
Full professional career method splits, graded against the full-pro division distribution. Career KO losses are the total — clean knockouts and cut/injury stoppages can’t be separated outside the UFC corpus. Finish-time pace is UFC-only.
KO history
UFC fights only — knockout power and chin durability, head-to-head, then when the last finish landed, and on whom.
- Last time KO'dvs Tatsuro Taira2 years agoUFC Fight Night: Perez vs. Taira · Jun 15, 2024 · R2 · 2:59* injury · not a clean KO
- Last time submittedvs Asu Almabayev7 months agoUFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs. Hooker · Nov 22, 2025 · R3 · 0:22
- Last time KO'dvs Kai Kara-France1y 10mo agoUFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya · Aug 17, 2024 · R1 · 4:04
- Last time submittedNever submitted in the UFC
Pace & fade
How each fighter's work rate holds up as a fight wears on — round-by-round output (striking, takedown attempts, and control time combined), and whether they fade. The fade % compares round-3 output to round 1 over bouts that reached the third round.
Cardio edge to Erceg: Erceg builds (+20% per round through round 3) while Perez fades (-16% per round through round 3). Within fights that reached round 3, Perez sustains 101% of round-1 output by round 3, Erceg 155%.
Rounds backed by fewer than 2 bouts are drawn smaller and dimmed with an n= count — a deep round seen in one or two fights is a thin sample, not a settled rate. Per-round bout counts are in the breakdown below.
Full per-round breakdown — both fighters
What drives the pace · per round
The composite output line above blends these three inputs. Splitting them out shows whether a fighter’s work rate is built on striking volume, takedown pressure, or top control — and which input fades.
| Round | Fighter | Output / min | Sig landed / min | Sig absorbed / min | TD att / min | Control | Bouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | Alex Perez | 6.9 | 5.4 | 3.9 | 0.27 | 17% | 14 |
| R1 | Steve Erceg | 4.7 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 0.15 | 5% | 8 |
| R2 | Alex Perez | 6.5 | 3.8 | 2.3 | 0.29 | 45% | 7 |
| R2 | Steve Erceg | 6.7 | 5.2 | 4.3 | 0.33 | 13% | 7 |
| R3 | Alex Perez | 4.9 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 0.52 | 37% | 4 |
| R3 | Steve Erceg | 7.2 | 5.1 | 3.3 | 0.37 | 26% | 6 |
| R4 | Alex Perez | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| R4 | Steve Erceg | 6.5 | 5.6 | 4.2 | 0.30 | 0% | 2 |
| R5 | Alex Perez | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| R5 | Steve Erceg | 3.9 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 0.20 | 2% | 2 |
Output / minis the headline work rate — significant strikes landed, plus 3 per takedown attempt, plus one per 15 seconds of control — so a takedown-and-grind round isn’t scored as idle the way bare striking volume would. The remaining columns are its components. Per-round rates use UFCStats per-round data (available for ~95% of bouts since 2008). Each round’s rates are averaged only over bouts that reached that round, so the bout count shrinks as rounds deepen. The final round of a finished fight is pro-rated by its actual length — a 2:30 stoppage counts as 2.5 minutes, not five — so an early finish doesn’t distort the per-minute pace.