“Will We Get the Dance?” Paulo Costa Cheers On Friend Ailin Perez Ahead of UFC Clash
Paulo Costa is rooting for Ailin Perez ahead of the UFC Vegas 121 clash, and his latest message focuses on what fans have come to expect after her wins.
Ahead of Allin Perez’s UFC Vegas 121 clash with Norma Dumont on Saturday, Paulo Costa shared a video message on Instagram and asked, “Will we get the dance?” The question points to Perez’s trademark celebration, which has become part of her identity since joining the UFC.
Perez enters the matchup with a 13-2 professional record and six consecutive UFC wins. She is ranked No. 5 at women’s bantamweight, while Dumont sits at No. 4, putting two of the division’s top contenders opposite each other in Las Vegas.
Paulo Costa and Ailin Perez Already Have a Dance History
Costa’s question goes back to a moment from UFC 302 fight week in 2024. A video circulating at the time showed Perez trying to teach Costa how to perform her signature move.
UFC later revisited the footage, with Perez laughing as she offered Costa some advice.
“You need to practice so we can dance together.”
UFC identified Perez as Costa’s friend in the same feature, while noting that the video had made its way around social media. The post also came directly from Costa’s Instagram account, making the upcoming fight another opportunity for the two to revisit their running joke.
Perez has kept the celebration around throughout her UFC run, and the question now is whether she will have another reason to perform it after facing Dumont.
Perez-Dumont Gets a Bigger Stage After Late Card Shakeup
The matchup will have a larger audience than originally expected after the UFC reshuffled the card during fight week.
MMA Junkie reported that Robert Bryczek had started the week expecting to compete in the co-main event against Rodolfo Vieira. That changed after media day, with the UFC moving Dumont-Perez and Luis Hernandez vs. Sedriques Dumas into higher spots and sending Vieira-Bryczek to the prelims. Bryczek said he was surprised by the original co-main assignment before the reshuffle.
MMA Fighting subsequently confirmed that Dumont-Perez had been bumped up to the co-main event. MMA Sucka’s latest weigh-in report also lists the bout directly behind Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Raoni Barcelos.
For Perez, that means an important ranked fight now comes with an even bigger platform. Costa, meanwhile, is watching for a very specific payoff. The dance.
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