Ailin Perez

Ailin "Fiona" Perez is an Argentine mixed martial artist who competes in the women's bantamweight division of the UFC. Born and raised in the Buenos Aires area of Argentina, she found her way into combat sports as a preteen, inspired by watching her brothers compete in rugby, and began training in Kung Fu and Sanda in the town of Zarate. In her early twenties she relocated to Buenos Aires to study Brazilian jiu-jitsu specifically to build a foundation for a career in mixed martial arts, turning professional in 2018.

Perez holds a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a red belt in Kung Fu, and built her amateur resume as a two-time South American Sanda Champion and two-time South American MMA Bantamweight Champion before adding a Samurai Fight House bantamweight title on her way to the UFC. She has trained out of The Goat Shed in Florida, later working with coaches at MMA Science Academy in Sunrise, Florida.

A pressure fighter at heart, Perez blends the striking instincts of her Sanda and Kung Fu background with a relentless, grappling-heavy approach built on takedowns and top control. Her wrestling and ground game have become her calling card, allowing her to dictate pace against larger, more experienced opponents, while her hands give her finishing power that has produced knockouts as well as ground-and-pound stoppages.

Since debuting in the UFC in 2022, Perez has strung together notable performances, including a unanimous decision over Joselyne Edwards at UFC 302, a win over Karol Rosa at UFC 311, and an armbar submission of Daria Zhelezniakova that stood as her first UFC finish via tap-out. She also set a women's bantamweight octagon record for takedowns landed in a single fight against Ashlee Evans-Smith.

Outside the cage, Perez is a single mother whose son fuels her ambitions, and she has become one of the faces of Argentina's growing presence in the UFC, known as much for her flamboyant post-fight celebrations as for the pressure she brings between the ropes.