Ailin Perez wants Kayla Harrison after ‘Easy’ fight at UFC Paris against Darya Zheleznyakova
Surging bantamweight contender, Ailin Perez may be preoccupied by a clash with Darya Zheleznyakova this weekend at UFC Fight Night Paris, however, the Buenos Aires native has distinct plans to take on Kayla Harrison in a high-profile pairing next.
Perez, who currently holds the number fifteen rank in the official bantamweight rankings, is currently in the midst of an impressive three-fight winning spree – most recently landing a unanimous decision win over Joselyn Edwards back in June at UFC 302.
And returning to action this weekend at the Accor Arena, Perez is slated to take on Russian contender, Zheleznyakova in her sophomore Octagon outing, in search of a fourth straight victory and likely some movement up the rankings as a result.
Ailin Perez stakes claim for title eliminator with Kayla Harrison next
Remaining supremely confident of beating the former – whom she has described as an “easy” fight in the grand scheme of things, Argentine striker, Perez has welcomed the chance to take on the streaking, Harrison – who returns next week in a title eliminator clash against Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307.
“Being 100 percent honest, I feel like this is an easy fight, my friend,” Ailin Perez told MMA Junkie during a recent interview. “I don’t know how else I can put it. She’s (Darya Zheleznyakova) a very green fighter. Her base is boxing, and she is a good boxer, but in MMA, she’s not up to my level.”
“After finishing Darya, I’m going to ask my friend Dana White for a main event fight, preferably against Kayla Harrison,” Ailin Perez explained. “We’re still insisting on that fight because that’s the fight I need to prove I’m worthy of fighting for a belt. And if not, Norma (Dumont) – if she stops running from me. She only wants to fight with people above her in the rankings, and that’s OK, but part of the reason why she’s in the rankings is that she hasn’t fought and lost to me. So Dumont – or Julianna Pena, who’s a punching bag.”
