Alex Caceres
Encyclopedia
Alex Caceres is an American
professional mixed martial artist
who competes in the lightweight
, featherweight
, and bantamweight
divisions. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Caceres mostly competed in his regional circuit, before signing with the Ultimate Fighting Championships to appear on The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck
.
where he trains at Young Tigers Foundation. Caceres claims to be "inventive and creative" during the fights, often smiling during competition. Caceres also never went the distance in any of his fights prior to joining the TUF cast. Caceres' nickname, "Bruce Leroy" stems from the character in the film The Last Dragon
.
promotion at "King of the Cage: Hurricane" in February 2009. His opponent in that fight was Eric Kovarik, who was coming off multiple successive losses. In under two minutes, Caceres submitted his opponent with a rear naked choke.
Caceres then won his next fight against Joel Garcia in May 2009 via submission (triangle choke) early in the first round before going on a two-fight losing streak. These two losses were both by armbar, taking his record to 4-2 at that time.
In his final fight before joining The Ultimate Fighter, Caceres defeated Jahmal McLennan via TKO midway through the third round to snap his losing streak.
to appear on The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck
.
In the debut episode, Caceres faced Paul Barrow, who was 3-0 going into the show. Caceres, who smiled almost the entire fight, would go to defeat Barrow via submission (rear naked choke) in the first round.
In the second episode, Caceres was picked as GSP's fourth pick (eighth overall). Caceres competed in his preliminary round fight during this episode against Jeff Lentz. Prior to the fight, Lentz's cardio was called into question due to his smoking and drinking. However, Lentz went on to arguably win the first round of the fight against Caceres. Midway through the second round, Caceres locked in a triangle choke, forcing the tapout and advancing him into the quarter-finals.
In episode 8, Team GSP had to pick which team members would fight each other (considering they had 5 members in the quarter-finals). St. Pierre asked each member to pick the fighter they would prefer to fight. Both Caceres and Michael Johnson
picked each other and they were scheduled to fight. Johnson defeated Caceres via unanimous decision (20-18, 20-18, 20-18) after two rounds in episode 10.
at UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis. He lost the fight via submission in the first round.
Caceres was expected to face Leonard Garcia
August 14, 2011 at UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle. However, Garcia was forced out of the bout with an injury and replace by promotional newcomer Jim Hettes
. Caceres was defeated by submission (rear naked choke) at 3:12 of round 2.
Caceres then dropped to the bantamweight division and faced Cole Escovedo
on November 12, 2011 at UFC on Fox 1. Caceres won via unanimous decision in a bout where he showed a vastly improved striking and ground game.
Caceres is expected to face Edwin Figueroa
on February 4, 2012 at UFC 143
.
|Win
|align=center|6–4
|Cole Escovedo
|Decision (unanimous)
|UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Anaheim, California
, US
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|5–4
|Jim Hettes
|Submission (rear-naked choke)
|UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|3:12
|Milwaukee, Wisconsin
, US
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|5–3
|Mackens Semerzier
|Submission (rear-naked choke)
|UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis
|
|style="text-align:center;"|1
|style="text-align:center;"|3:18
|Seattle, Washington
, US
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|5–2
|Ketema Jahmal McLennan
|TKO (punches)
|G-Force Fights: Bad Blood 3
|
|style="text-align:center;"|3
|style="text-align:center;"|2:48
|Miami, Florida
, US
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|4–2
|Matt McCook
|Submission (armbar)
|WFC: Battle of the Bay 8
|
|style="text-align:center;"|2
|style="text-align:center;"|3:56
|Tampa, Florida
, US
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|4–1
|Farkhad Sharipov
|Submission (armbar)
|Best of the Best
|
|style="text-align:center;"|3
|style="text-align:center;"|3:01
|Columbus, Georgia
, US
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|4–0
|Joel Garcia
|Submission (triangle choke)
|XFN: Da Matta vs. Thorne
|
|style="text-align:center;"|1
|style="text-align:center;"|1:05
|Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, US
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|3–0
|Eric Kovarik
|Submission (rear-naked choke)
|KOTC: Hurricane
|
|style="text-align:center;"|1
|style="text-align:center;"|1:58
|Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, US
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|2–0
|Tulio Quintanilla
|TKO (punches)
|MFA: There Will Be Blood
|
|style="text-align:center;"|2
|style="text-align:center;"|4:14
|Miami, Florida
, US
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|1–0
|Eric Luke
|Submission (armbar)
|G-Force Fights: Bad Blood 1
|
|style="text-align:center;"|2
|style="text-align:center;"|1:45
|Miami, Florida
, US
|
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional mixed martial artist
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
who competes in the lightweight
Lightweight (MMA)
The lightweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:* The UFC & Strikeforce lightweight division with upper limit at 155 lb...
, featherweight
Featherweight (MMA)
The featherweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:*UFC's & Pancrase's featherweight division, which groups competitors within 136 to 145 lb...
, and bantamweight
Bantamweight (MMA)
The bantamweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:*The King of the Cage bantamweight class with upper limit at 145 lb...
divisions. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Caceres mostly competed in his regional circuit, before signing with the Ultimate Fighting Championships to appear on The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck
The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck
The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck is the twelfth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship produced reality television series The Ultimate Fighter....
.
Background
Caceres comes from Miami, FloridaMiami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
where he trains at Young Tigers Foundation. Caceres claims to be "inventive and creative" during the fights, often smiling during competition. Caceres also never went the distance in any of his fights prior to joining the TUF cast. Caceres' nickname, "Bruce Leroy" stems from the character in the film The Last Dragon
The Last Dragon
The Last Dragon is a 1985 martial arts musical film produced by Rupert Hitzig for Berry Gordy and directed by Michael Schultz. The film was a critical disappointment but a financial success, The Last Dragon is now considered a cult classic. The film stars Taimak, Vanity, Julius Carry, Christopher...
.
Early career
Caceres initially fought in an underground backyard street fighting organization in Miami. Caceres mostly appeared in promotions based in Florida. Amongst these was an appearance for the King of the CageKing of the Cage
King of the Cage, also known as KOTC, is a mixed martial arts promotion based in Southern California, USA.-History:KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock. KOTC features up and coming MMA stars as well as experienced combat fighters....
promotion at "King of the Cage: Hurricane" in February 2009. His opponent in that fight was Eric Kovarik, who was coming off multiple successive losses. In under two minutes, Caceres submitted his opponent with a rear naked choke.
Caceres then won his next fight against Joel Garcia in May 2009 via submission (triangle choke) early in the first round before going on a two-fight losing streak. These two losses were both by armbar, taking his record to 4-2 at that time.
In his final fight before joining The Ultimate Fighter, Caceres defeated Jahmal McLennan via TKO midway through the third round to snap his losing streak.
The Ultimate Fighter
Caceres then signed with the Ultimate Fighting ChampionshipUltimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
to appear on The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck
The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck
The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck is the twelfth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship produced reality television series The Ultimate Fighter....
.
In the debut episode, Caceres faced Paul Barrow, who was 3-0 going into the show. Caceres, who smiled almost the entire fight, would go to defeat Barrow via submission (rear naked choke) in the first round.
In the second episode, Caceres was picked as GSP's fourth pick (eighth overall). Caceres competed in his preliminary round fight during this episode against Jeff Lentz. Prior to the fight, Lentz's cardio was called into question due to his smoking and drinking. However, Lentz went on to arguably win the first round of the fight against Caceres. Midway through the second round, Caceres locked in a triangle choke, forcing the tapout and advancing him into the quarter-finals.
In episode 8, Team GSP had to pick which team members would fight each other (considering they had 5 members in the quarter-finals). St. Pierre asked each member to pick the fighter they would prefer to fight. Both Caceres and Michael Johnson
Michael Johnson (fighter)
Michael Johnson is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Johnson mostly competed in his regional circuit, before signing onto the Ultimate Fighting Championship circuit to appear on The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs...
picked each other and they were scheduled to fight. Johnson defeated Caceres via unanimous decision (20-18, 20-18, 20-18) after two rounds in episode 10.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Caceres made his official UFC debut in March 2011 against Mackens SemerzierMackens Semerzier
Mackens Semerzier is an American professional mixed martial arts fighter. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Semerzier has mostly fought in Virginia...
at UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis. He lost the fight via submission in the first round.
Caceres was expected to face Leonard Garcia
Leonard Garcia
Leonard Garcia is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He previously fought for the UFC in the lightweight division before moving down to the featherweight division in the World Extreme Cagefighting...
August 14, 2011 at UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle. However, Garcia was forced out of the bout with an injury and replace by promotional newcomer Jim Hettes
Jim Hettes
Jim Hettes is an American mixed martial artist currently competing as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.-Martial Arts background:...
. Caceres was defeated by submission (rear naked choke) at 3:12 of round 2.
Caceres then dropped to the bantamweight division and faced Cole Escovedo
Cole Escovedo
Cole Escovedo is an American mixed martial artist from Fresno, California currently fighting for the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
on November 12, 2011 at UFC on Fox 1. Caceres won via unanimous decision in a bout where he showed a vastly improved striking and ground game.
Caceres is expected to face Edwin Figueroa
Edwin Figueroa
Edwin Figueroa is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the bantamweight division of the UFC. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, Figueroa fought in regional promotions in his home state of Texas before signing with Zuffa in 2011....
on February 4, 2012 at UFC 143
UFC 143
UFC 143 is an upcoming mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event is expected to take place on February 4, 2012 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Announced bouts:...
.
Mixed martial arts record
|-|Win
|align=center|6–4
|Cole Escovedo
Cole Escovedo
Cole Escovedo is an American mixed martial artist from Fresno, California currently fighting for the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
|Decision (unanimous)
|UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos
UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos
UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 12, 2011 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The event was the fifth that the UFC has hosted in Anaheim.-Background:This card marked the UFC's debut on the Fox Network...
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Anaheim, California
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
, US
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|5–4
|Jim Hettes
Jim Hettes
Jim Hettes is an American mixed martial artist currently competing as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.-Martial Arts background:...
|Submission (rear-naked choke)
|UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|3:12
|Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
, US
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|5–3
|Mackens Semerzier
Mackens Semerzier
Mackens Semerzier is an American professional mixed martial arts fighter. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Semerzier has mostly fought in Virginia...
|Submission (rear-naked choke)
|UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis
UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis
UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 26, 2011 at the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington.-Background:...
|
|style="text-align:center;"|1
|style="text-align:center;"|3:18
|Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, US
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|5–2
|Ketema Jahmal McLennan
|TKO (punches)
|G-Force Fights: Bad Blood 3
|
|style="text-align:center;"|3
|style="text-align:center;"|2:48
|Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, US
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|4–2
|Matt McCook
|Submission (armbar)
|WFC: Battle of the Bay 8
|
|style="text-align:center;"|2
|style="text-align:center;"|3:56
|Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, US
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|4–1
|Farkhad Sharipov
|Submission (armbar)
|Best of the Best
|
|style="text-align:center;"|3
|style="text-align:center;"|3:01
|Columbus, Georgia
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
, US
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|4–0
|Joel Garcia
|Submission (triangle choke)
|XFN: Da Matta vs. Thorne
|
|style="text-align:center;"|1
|style="text-align:center;"|1:05
|Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, US
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|3–0
|Eric Kovarik
|Submission (rear-naked choke)
|KOTC: Hurricane
|
|style="text-align:center;"|1
|style="text-align:center;"|1:58
|Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, US
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|2–0
|Tulio Quintanilla
|TKO (punches)
|MFA: There Will Be Blood
|
|style="text-align:center;"|2
|style="text-align:center;"|4:14
|Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, US
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|1–0
|Eric Luke
|Submission (armbar)
|G-Force Fights: Bad Blood 1
|
|style="text-align:center;"|2
|style="text-align:center;"|1:45
|Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, US
|