UFC fight canceled tonight: Alex Perez vs Manel Kape falls through due to a medical issue

One UFC fight was canceled during the live broadcast of Saturday night's card. Alex Perez and Manel Kape were scheduled to start off the main-card action at UFC San Antonio.

The matchup between the top 10-ranked flyweight contenders fell through at the last minute due to a medical issue with Perez. The cancelation was announced during the UFC San Antonio prelims. Color commentator Brendan Fitzgerald said:

"Alex Perez and Manel Kape...that fight has been canceled. There's been a medical issue for [Alex] Perez backstage here and out of an abundance of caution they canceled the fight."

Catch the clip below:

UFC bantamweight Vince Morales labeled it 'scary stuff' but assured fans that Perez was speaking fine when the EMTs arrived.

This is a huge blow to the UFC San Antonio main card, with Alex Perez and Manel Kape being ranked number 6 and 9 in the flyweight division respectively.

With this delay, Perez will have to wait to bounce back from consecutive first-round stoppage losses. After a failed title bid against Deiveson Figueiredo in 2020, Perez returned to the octagon at UFC 277 last July, only to be submitted by top contender Alexandre Pantoja in the opening frame.

Meanwhile, Portuguese-Angolian prospect Kape is currently riding a three-fight winning streak after starting his UFC career with back-to-back decision losses in 2021. During the pre-fight face-off, 'Starboy' had accused Perez of spying on him.