I fully understand the vast majority of people picking Cristian here and I am about to do the same, but it is important to call out that Kyle Nelson isn’t the bum people paint him to be and his record is is a reflection of his opponents. Both Steve Garcia and Terrance McKinney would knock Perez out the same way they did Nelson. Kyle Nelson without a doubt has more high level experience here, the problem is, I don’t know if he has the chin. Outside of UFC 332, this has been the year of the unc and i would argue that Kyle’s age and resume qualify his as an Unc, then add a little zip and zazz for him being at home and Cristian with a short turnaround… This could get weird. I’m not going to pick Cristian though because I can’t use the ancillary factors, just fight skills.

Kyle Nelson

Kyle Nelson is a solid striker with very real power in his hands. He has solid takedown defense and does a really good job using his opponents shots to create a scramble and end up on top. He does a good job making fights ugly and can win with toughness but at 36 his chin is starting togo. He is coming off the almost immediate KO loss to Terrance McKinney

Cristian Perez

Cristian Perez is an aggressive striker who does a really nice job using all of his tools. He will spike elbows in the clinch, blast legs at range, shoot takedowns and work BJJ. He has the mexican fighting spirit which is important because he can be hittable. He isn’t the most technical guy but he’s ready for war. Takedown defense is solid but if he is taken down, he works submissions and creates scrambles. He has offensive takedowns as well that he uses to set up ground and pound.