When Alex Perez suffered seizure during warmup, causing cancellation of fight against Manel Kape

It is no secret that Alex Perez has seen his fair share of struggles in making it to the octagon throughout his career, perhaps none more troubling than his failed bout with Manel Kape. The two flyweights never fought each other but were scheduled to do so at UFC San Antonio in March 2023.

On the night of the scheduled fight, fans were notified that the matchup had been pulled from the card due to Perez's decision to withdraw from the event. The general public let out a collective groan, but it would later be revealed that the former flyweight title challenger suffered a seizure during his warmups backstage that required immediate medical attention.

Alex Perez penned an explanation on social media, writing:

"I was doing my pre-fight warmup and had a seizure. I immediately received medical attention... This has nothing to do with the weight cut. It was one of the easiest cuts of my career. I will be undergoing further testing in the coming weeks to determine the cause."

Since signing with the UFC in 2017, Perez has had 12 fights canceled. Of those 12 failed fights, eight were confirmed to be problems caused by his camp.

Since receiving a title shot against Deiveson Figueiredo in 2020, Perez has fought just three times, going 1-2 in that span.

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Manel Kape's blunt reaction to Alex Perez's withdrawal

Many fans were immediately sympathetic to Alex Perez's medical situation upon hearing the news of his withdrawal, but Manel Kape was unable to hold back his emotions in his initial reaction.

The flyweights had engaged in an intense staredown the day prior. Just hours after the fight's official cancellation, Kape called Perez a "coward" in his media statement while posting a lengthy rant. The Portuguese also told Perez that his "DNA is an abomination" and that he "felt" the American did not want to fight him.

The fight was never rebooked, and Kape would have two more bouts fall through in 2023 before picking up a win over short-notice replacement Felipe dos Santos to end the year.

Kape was then booked to rematch Matheus Nicolau at UFC Vegas 91 but withdrew from the fight and was subsequently replaced by Perez, who won by second-round knockout.