UFC Vegas 91 gets new main event as Manel Kape forced to withdraw from Matheus Nicolau rematch

UFC Vegas 91 which takes place on April 27 has taken a hit as the card has a new main event.

The main event of the card was originally supposed to be a rematch between Manel Kape and Matheus Nicolau. However, on Tuesday, the UFC revealed on social media that Kape is out of the fight and Alex Perez has stepped up on short notice to face Nicolau. It’s currently unclear why Kape is out of the fight, but the UFC quickly found a replacement.

https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1775298415297241424

Matheus Nicolau (19-3-1) is ranked fifth at flyweight and coming off a first-round knockout loss to Brandon Royval last April. The loss snapped his six-fight winning streak, including four of those in his return to the UFC as he beat Matt Schnell by TKO, David Dvorak by decision, Tim Elliott by decision, and Manel Kape by decision. Nicolau is in his second stint in the UFC as he first fought for the promotion from 2015 until 2018 going 3-1 but ended his tenure with a knockout loss to Dustin Ortiz.

Alex Perez (24-8) was set to face Tagir Ulanbekov on June 15 but that fight is now off as he has stepped up to face Matheus Nicolau at UFC Vegas 91. Perez is coming off a decision loss to Muhammad Mokaev back in March which was his first fight in a year-and-half when he was submitted by Alexandre Pantoja. Perez is ranked eighth at flyweight and is 6-4 in the UFC.

With Matheus Nicolau now fighting Alex Perez, UFC Vegas 91 is as follows:

• Matheus Nicolau vs. Alex Perez
• Ryan Spann vs. Bogdan Guskov
• Karine Silva vs. Ariane Lipski
• Joel Alvarez vs. Matheus Rebecki
• Rani Yahya vs. Victor Henry
• Jhonata Diniz vs. Austen Lane
• Maheshate vs. Gabriel Benitez
• Austin Hubbard vs. Michal Figlak
• Don’Tale Mayes vs. Caio Machado
• James Llontop vs. Gabe Green
• Ivana Petrovic vs. Na Liang
• Jonathan Pearce vs. David Onama
• Ketlen Souza vs. Marnic Mann