UFC Veteran Markus Perez Sparks Scuffle At Pillow Fighting Championships
Former UFC middleweight, Markus Perez competed in the Pillow Fighting Championships in Miami, Florida over the course of last weekend – engaging in an almost fist-fight scuffle with a fitness instructor during their quarter-final bracket.
Perez, a seven-fight veteran of the UFC, saw his time with the organization come to an end back in February of last year after he was handed his release following a string of three consecutive losses.
Pillow Fighting Championships hosts it’s pay-per-view events on the Fite TV platform
The Sao Paulo native is a former LFA middleweight champion, and during his tenure with the UFC, established a 2-5 record, landing wins over both James Bochnovich, and Anthony Hernandez, while dropping losses against Eryk Anders, Andrew Sanchez, Wellington Turman, Dricus du Plessis, and Dalcha Lungiambula.
Before his move to the organization back in 2017, Perez defeated the trio of Paulo Thiago, Ildemar Alcantara, and won the aforenoted LFA title with a first round arm-triangle win over Ian Heinisch.
1-1 since his UFC departure following a loss to Lungiambula, Perez has competed for both Cage Warriors, and Thunder Fight, and featured at a Pillow Fighting Championships event over the weekend.
Perez, who gained recognition during his UFC tenure for sporting Joke-esque face makeup during ceremonial weigh-ins, competed at a Pillow Fighting Championships event in the ‘Sunshine State’ over the weekend, almost engaging in an actual fist-fight with his opponent, Reggie Newsome after the latter lost his pillow during an exchange.
Continuing to strike Newsome with his own pillow before the referee could intervene, Perez, who had then turned away from his opponent and begun laughing, was met with a push from Newsome, before the pair then clinched in the center of the ring.
With the official unable to pry the two apart, staff from Pillow Fighting Championships then entered the ring as Perez and Newsome continued to lock horns, eventually causing some separation between the two.
In the women’s Grand Prix at the Pillow Fighting Championships event, which consisted of eight participants, UFC strawweight and former ONE Championship feature, Istela Nunes managed to win the tournament and subsequently the $5,000 check. The Curitiba native made her UFC bow back in October suffering a loss against compatriot, Ariane Carnelossi.
