Fighter, father, champion: Jose Perez looks forward to making long-awaited return at CFFC 123 for first featherweight title defense
Perez puts his title on the line against Chris Vasil at Friday's event on UFC FIGHT PASS.
After a yearlong absence since securing CFFC's 145-pound title against Frank Wells via rear-naked choke at CFFC 112, featherweight champion Jose Perez is ready to return to the cage for his first title defense.
Perez (7-1) headlines Friday's CFFC 123 event against Chris Vasil (6-3), which streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS from Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania.
"Physically, I'm in peak performance; I'm in great shape," Perez said. This fight was originally supposed to happen a few months ago but fell through due to health issues. .. I've been training for the same guy for months now, and I'm ready to forget him and move on with my career."
Currently on a three-fight win streak and boasting an impressive career record, Perez is no stranger to rising to the occasion. Although this is Perez's first fight with a belt on his shoulder, pressure and expectations are not distractions he is letting get to him.
"The pressure is not coming from the physical belt; the pressure's gonna be more from expectations," Perez said, "Before, I was fighting uphill battles, and if I did alright, that means I did well because expectations were low. Now that people started paying attention and gave me a fair shake, expectations are high. I really want to put on a show to try to exceed them and kinda show these people what they're expecting from me."
Despite now being king of CFFC's featherweight division, Perez was initially unsure about whether or not he would even pursue a career in professional fighting. The community he surrounded himself with at Gilbert Grappling eventually led him to the path he walks today.
"I had a gap between my amateur career and my pro career of about three years where I wasn't going to fight anymore. I was ready to give up on it," said Perez, "Going into Gilbert Grappling was supposed to just be more of a hobby and to keep in shape. But no, those guys are all motivated, they're all dogs, and I guess they ignited the dog in me, too. We're friends forged under fire. Like I always say, my best friends punch me in the face, usually."
Perez's family is his biggest motivation when it comes to fighting. On top of all of the success and accomplishments throughout Perez's career, there is one title he holds higher than any other: father.
"When I was an amateur, I wasn't a father. I was fighting for myself, and it was more for a pat on the back. It was pageantry," said Perez, "I was doing something to be flashy, not to try and meet or exceed challenges, and it was very egotistical. I can clearly see the difference between what's egotistical and what's pride. Ego is when you perform to meet what's expected of you, what you think the other people want to see within you. Pride is those moments alone; it's what you want to see within yourself.
"I think having daughters has taken my own light off of myself and just shows me there's other things that are more important outside of myself, and that really fights the ego for me. It's still there, everybody battles it, but it kills my ego and heightens that sense of pride."
As Perez prepares for a possible 25 minutes of combat in the cage with Vasil, he looks forward to expressing himself for the crowd of screaming fans flooding into the arena. Perez sees fighting as an outlet to show the world who he is through a display of skill.
"We all get our lumps in life – we all get beat up, we all get our licks in life, whether it be a monotonous 9-to-5 job or something out of the box like fighting," Perez said, "To me, this is just a more direct approach to taking those lumps. We all have our passions in life, knacks and talents, and I just think that from childhood, I'm tailor-made for this, and I think that I have something in me that I always feel the need to express. For me, this is a raw and clearcut way for me to express who I am at my core."
ARTICLE BY: DEMETRI MOUTIS