Perez (25-9 MMA, 7-5 UFC) was forced out of his Aug. 9 co-main event against Steve Erceg (12-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Perez confirmed the news on Instagram after an initial report from "The Fight Analyst" on X.

He faced unbeaten Brazilian slugger Tallison Teixeira, 25, who earned a UFC slot with a win on Dana White's Contender Series and stopped Justin Tafa in just 35 seconds in his official company debut on a pay-per-view undercard five months ago.

Knockout king Derrick Lewis extended his record by making quick work of Tallison Teixeira in the UFC on ESPN 70 main event.

One heavyweight who has made a quick impact is Valter Walker. His third straight first-round UFC stoppage win – and third straight by heel hook, a new record – has him onto the chart for the first time and no doubt looking to make a fast climb. Check out all the latest moves in the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA rankings.

ESPN and UFC agreed to a five-year, $1.5 billion deal in 2018 (beginning 2019) that allows ESPN to air 30 UFC Fight Night events annually, with 10 main cards on ESPN’s television networks and 20 ...