Aspiring UFC fighter misses weight, wins and twerks taunts her opponent

Ailin Perez added insult to injury on Saturday in France.

A day after missing the bantamweight limit by 0.5 pounds, Perez defeated Daria Zhelezniakova with a powerful wrestling and submission game en route to a first-round finish. Known for her signature twerking dances after victories, Perez stuck to the tradition she started before joining the UFC.

Perez didn't just start dancing in her corner; She twerked and taunted Zhelezniakova while she was on the ground and continued when her opponent got up. Perez even changed the target of her dance to double down on the taunt.

Here's a look at the winning sequence and post-fight celebration.

Long-time martial arts journalist Ariel Helwani also criticized the disrespect.

Perez responded to Helwani's post and asked for an opportunity to explain himself on Helwani's new show.

If there is such a thing as tripling an action, Perez said: “I khabbed the Russian and then worked on her GOAT emoji.”

Perez has seen her UFC women's bantamweight ranking rise to No. 15, and she has more than 500,000 followers on Instagram and even more on OnlyFans.

After their win and post-fight celebration in Paris, the latter two numbers could see an increase, but the UFC rankings could remain at No. 15.

Perez missed weight, which is generally frowned upon in combat sports. Things can happen during a weight loss process to complicate matters, but it is still generally considered unprofessional if you do not reach your designated weight.

Perez drew attention Friday for looking visibly shaky and perhaps sick from trying to gain 135 pounds.

Since Perez only missed her weight by half a pound, she won't receive as much criticism as a fighter who missed her weight by three pounds or more, which we have seen in both MMA and boxing.

There's a world where Perez and Chelsea Chandler could overtake veteran Germaine De Randamie. The 40-year-old veteran has only fought once since 2020, and that bout ended in a unanimous decision loss to Norma Dumont.

De Randamie was scheduled to fight Nora Cornolle on the Paris card, but the former withdrew. Perhaps by Tuesday, when the latest UFC rankings are released, de Randamie will be down to No. 15, and Chandler and Perez will be at Nos. 13 and 14.

As for the dancing, some may find it offensive, but it has become Perez's trademark and undeniably a part of her story as she moves up the women's bantamweight division. We'll see who she's paired with next. Perez and Tracy Cortez have disputes that have manifested themselves online in the form of exchanges on X.

However, Cortez could focus on flyweight, where she recently lost to Rose Namajunas. Maybe a fight against No. 8 Holly Holm would make sense for Perez.

Holm insists she is not ready to retire yet and Perez could be the perfect opponent for her, whether she is right or wrong.

Here's a look at all the results from UFC Paris.

UFC Fight Night Paris main card

• Renato Moicano defeated. Benoît Saint Denis via TKO at 5:00 in round 3
• Nassourdine Imavov defeated. Brendan Allen via unanimous decision (29-28×3)
• William Gomis defeats Joanderson Brito via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Bryan Battle defeated Kevin Jousset by TKO at 3:47 of round 2
• Morgan Charriere defeated Gabriel Miranda by KO at 0:27 in round 2
• Fares Ziam defeated Matt Frevola by KO at 2:59 of round 3
• Ion Cutelaba defeats Ivan Erslan via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Oumar Sy defeats Jung Da-woon by unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
• Ľudovit Klein defeats Roosevelt Roberts by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Taylor Lapilus defeated. Vince Morales via unanimous decision (30-27×3)
• Ailín Pérez defeated. Daria Zheleznyakova via submission at 3:52 of round 1 (arm-triangle choke)
• Daniel Barez defeats Victor Altamirano via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
• Jacqueline Cavalcanti defeats Nora Cornolle via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
• Chris Duncan defeats Bolaji Oki by submission at 3:34 of the first round (guillotine)