After moving from Mexico, Alejandro Perez feeling more at home training at AKA

Alejandro Perez will not need to be traveling for training camps anymore.

The UFC bantamweight fighter, who fights Matthew Lopez on Saturday at UFC on FOX 29, moved from Aguascalientes, Mexico to San Jose, Calif., in hopes to take his fighting career to a new level. Training at AKA, Perez had to constantly be making the trip to the U.S. for his training camps. However, that changed after his last fight with Iuri Alcantara, as the Mexican fighter has been in the process of moving to the U.S. with his wife and two daughters.

The move to San Jose was purely based on his MMA career, and Perez feels that it was something that needed to be done.

“Definitely, yes,” Perez told MMA Fighting. “In San Jose there are a lot of UFC fighters and world champions, so it helps me a lot training with them and the coaches, Javier Mendez and Alex Khanbabian were world champions, too, and coach Carolyn [Wester] has a lot of hunger to pass down her knowledge in wrestling. So all that has helped me win fights and thank God I’ve won five fights in the UFC and it’s thanks to those decisions too.”

Perez is still not fully settled in San Jose. He’s still working on his English and getting used to the differences between Aguascalientes and San Jose.

“Like 80 percent,” Perez said regarding the state of his move to the U.S. “I’m already living there, but I still go to Mexico frequently. Things are still working themselves out and once my daughters enter school and everything that’s when I’ll have to stabilize myself more.”

The season one winner of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America says he already feels the difference training at AKA now that he lives in the U.S.

“Now that I have more experience being in the U.S., I now have a less pressure in the things that I do and my times,” Perez explained. “I’m now able to manage my time better, so yeah, I do feel better in my training camps and that’s seen in my fights.

“It’s given me a lot of tranquility and stability. I do want to get settled even more and feel a lot more comfortable.”

The 28-year-old Mexican fighter is currently unbeaten in his last 5 bouts with a record of 4-0-1. For this bout with Lopez, Perez hoped to have been placed on the main card of UFC on FOX 29, but unfortunately for him, he once again found himself on the prelims.

Despite not being on the main card, Perez is focused and out to prove he belongs in the UFC bantamweight rankings.

“I’m just focused on advancing and making it to the next level, so that’s what I’m focused on right now,” Perez explained. “This is how my path is and I have to embrace it, and I’m going to make the most of it. I do want to fight in main card, so I have to keep at it and overcome every obstacle they give me to get to where I want to be. I know it’s hard, but I’m aware that the time is going to come.”