The Passion Play of Jose Perez

Boundaries are not an issue for Jose Perez. In fact, he set them for himself and his career.

The Cage Fury Fighting Championships featherweight titleholder will make his Professional Fighters League debut opposite Jesse Stirn as part of the PFL 9 undercard this Friday at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. At 29, Perez has no plans to overstay his welcome in the sport. He wants to tend to business, accomplish his goals and get out while he can still complete sentences.

“I want to have something left for my daughters,” Perez told Sherdog.com. “I don’t want Parkinson’s. I don’t want to have the shakes. I don’t want to be punch drunk when this is all over. I acknowledge that when I do go into fights, more than likely, I’m going to take some damage just because that’s who I am. I’m not super defensive. I’m very aggressive, and when you’re aggressive, sometimes that leaves you open for punches and things like that, so if I’m going to do it, I don’t plan on having a very, very long career.

“I hope that by the time I’m 34, I’m already retired,” he added. “I don’t want to be 34 years old and fighting. The plan for my career is quality over quantity. I don’t want 30-40 fights on my resume. I want to have less, but I want them to be high caliber.”

Perez operates out of Gilbert Grappling—also known as G2 MMA—in Country Club Hills, Illinois, some 25 miles to the southwest of Chicago. There, he fine tunes his skills alongside Beau Samaniego, Luis Unzueta and Steve Collins, among others. Perez has no desire to train anywhere else.

“I’m not chasing UFC fighters,” he said. “I’m not trying to put myself in a position where I could bump shoulders with someone and maybe help my Instagram. I’m strictly business here. We’re not changing anything. There’s nothing that needs to change. We’re building something here, building something really special. There’s no need for me to pack up and go anywhere else. There’s no need for other coaches or outside help. We have everything we need here, and I think that’s been proven. I just think that more time on the mat is what’s ahead of me. Now that I’m in the PFL, [there will] just [be] more time dedicated to this, more of an investment into myself and into my skills.”

In Stirn, Perez confronts a former CFFC champion on a five-fight winning streak. The 32-year-old Baltimore native replaces Team Alpha Male’s Tyler Diamond, who was rebooked as a featherweight alternate and matched with Enrique Barzola in the weeks leading up to the event. Stirn last suited up at the 2023 PFL Championships, where he laid claim to a three-round unanimous decision over Josh Blyden on Nov. 24.

“I think that he’s coming into his own,” Perez said. “I would say that his hands used to be subpar, and now they’ve caught up to his grappling. I know that most of his losses are by submission, and I think that that’s something that I can exploit. He’s got the experience advantage over me, but I just feel, skill for skill, that I’m better. I think that the places that he’s good at, I’m also good at, and just because of the stylistic matchup, I don’t think that I really have to change anything in preparation for this fight.

“That’s generally how I approach all my fights,” he added. “I try not to change the things that I’m good at or focus on something that I don’t really favor to suit my opponent. I just believe if I go out there and do the things that I know I’m good at and stick to the game plan that I’m going to come out the winner. This is my opportunity to make my case to be put into the 2025 season. That’s my goal: make a statement and make my case for the tournament.”

Perez’s belief in pursuing his passions led him to a career in combat sports.

“I’m a big advocate and I always preach to people to just do what you love, and I think that fighting is for me,” he said. “It’s directly for me because I want to do what I love. I’m leading by example. When my daughters are making a decision on what they’re going to do for the rest of their life, I want them to be able to like look at me and see there’s an example of someone that really did take the risks and it worked out for them.”