Alex Caceres – Page 3 – Syndication Server

UFC on ESPN 45 predictions: Is anyone picking Kai Kara-France over Amir Albazi?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC on ESPN 45 main card in Las Vegas, featuring Kai Kara-France vs. Amir Albazi at flyweight.

	Kara-France vs. Albazi	Caceres vs. Pineda	Altamirano vs. Elliott	Silva vs. Souza	Nurmagomedov vs. Zaleski dos Santos
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 77-52	Kara-France (56%)	Caceres (75%)	Elliott (60%)	Silva (74%)	Nurmagomedov (59%)
Matt Erickson @MattE 86-43	Albazi	Caceres	Altamirano	Souza	Nurmagomedov
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 81-48	Albazi	Caceres	Altamirano	Souza	Nurmagomedov
Simon Samano @SJSamano 81-48	Albazi	Caceres	Altamirano	Silva	Nurmagomedov
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 78-51	Albazi	Pineda	Altamirano	Silva	Nurmagomedov
Nolan King @mma_kings 78-51	Albazi	Caceres	Elliott	Silva	Nurmagomedov
Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 76-53 2014 Champion	Kara-France	Caceres	Altamirano	Silva	Nurmagomedov
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway -74-55 2018, 2022 Champion	Albazi	Caceres	Altamirano	Silva	Zaleski dos Santos
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 72-57	Albazi	Caceres	Elliott	Silva	Nurmagomedov
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 70-59	Albazi	Pineda	Altamirano	Silva	Nurmagomedov
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 70-59	Albazi	Caceres	Altamirano	Silva	Nurmagomedov
Brian Garcia @thegoze 68-61 2017 Champion	Albazi	Caceres	Altamirano	Silva	Zaleski dos Santos

Editor’s note: The main card fight between Jim Miller and short-notice replacement Jesse Butler was added too late for our picks deadline and is not included.)

After a week off, the UFC is back in Las Vegas with a key flyweight fight at the top of the bill.

UFC on ESPN 45 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, [autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] (24-10 MMA, 7-3 UFC) will try to bounce back into contention after an interim flyweight title loss to Brandon Moreno in July 2022 when he meets [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC), who has yet to lose in the UFC.

Although the odds at most sportsbooks are a pick’em, it’s Albazi who is our closest thing to a unanimous pick on the main card this week. Our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have it as a 10-1 blowout for Albazi.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag] (20-13 MMA, 15-11 UFC) meets [autotag]Daniel Pineda[/autotag] (28-14 MMA, 5-5 UFC) in a featherweight bout. Caceres has won six of his past seven fights, is a -175 favorite at the betting window, and has a big 9-2 picks lead.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Victor Altamirano[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) takes on former flyweight title challenger [autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag] (18-12-1 MMA, 7-10 UFC). Elliott nearly is a 2-1 betting favorite, but our pickers have Altamirano in a 9-2 blowout.

[autotag]Karine Silva[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) meets [autotag]Ketlen Souza[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in an all-Brazil women’s flyweight scrap. Silva is more than a 2-1 favorite and has a big 9-2 lead from our staff members.

And to open the main card at welterweight, [autotag]Abubakar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (17-3-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag] (23-7 MMA, 9-3 UFC). The fight has nearly even odds with Nurmagomedov at -115, but our staff members have him with a huge 9-2 picks win, as well.

In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Kara-France (56 percent), Caceres (75 percent), Elliott (60 percent), Silva (74 percent) and Nurmagomedov (59 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.

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Twelve years into UFC career, Alex Caceres thinks he’s finally hitting prime: ‘It’s beginning to come together’

After over a decade as a UFC fighter, Alex Caceres thinks the best has yet to come.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag] thinks his career is very much on the up and that there are even better days ahead for him in the octagon.

Despite being 34 and with 12-plus years of UFC experience under his belt, Caceres (20-13 MMA, 15-11 UFC) thinks he’s just now coming into his prime as a fighter. Caceres returns Saturday for what will be his 27th UFC fight. It takes place on the main card of UFC on ESPN 45 vs. Daniel Pineda (28-14 MMA, 5-5 UFC).

“I feel like I can have a very long career,” Caceres told reporters at the UFC on ESPN 45 media day. “I don’t feel like I’m slowing down. I feel like I’m coming into my own just now. I don’t feel a day older than when I started. If anything, I feel more athletic, more cardio-vascularly sound, sometimes younger than I was in my 20s.

“I think I’m hitting those final stages of puberty, I guess. I’m starting to get a crazy amount of energy. I want to work out more. I get bouncey if don’t work out. I just enjoy the progression. I enjoy the improvement.”

Caceres is 6-1 in his most recent seven UFC bouts and he thinks the key to this success has come down to the mental side of things. Self-belief took Caceres to a new level.

“There’s always doubts, but it’s whether you let the water into your ship or not, that’s the crucial matter,” Caceres said. “But there’s always doubts. I’ve been vegan for about 10 years and there’s been doubts about my diet. Maybe I’m not doing this because I’m eating this way or this way or that way. Then I prove myself wrong, and time makes a fool of me as well. But aside from that, there’s been plenty of doubts.

“I doubted that I don’t have power, that I can’t hit people hard. Then I go and prove myself wrong again. It’s beginning to come together, and it has to do a lot with believing in yourself.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.

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Video: UFC on ESPN 45 media day interviews

Before UFC on ESPN 45 arrives, eight athletes from the main card are scheduled to speak to reporters Wednesday at media day.

LAS VEGAS – The UFC schedule for June kicks off Saturday with UFC on ESPN 45, which takes place at the UFC Apex with a card that airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

A flyweight bout serves as the main event, with [autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] taking on [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] in a matchup between two men looking to help their case toward a future 125-pound title shot.

Before fight night arrives, though, eight athletes spoke to reporters Wednesday at media day.

If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream above, check below for the archived videos of each media day session.

UFC on ESPN 45 pre-event facts: Jim Miller can add to octagon wins record, be first to 25

The best facts and figures about UFC on ESPN 45, where Jim Miller and Andrei Arlovski can add to their places atop the UFC wins list.

The UFC opens a jam-packed June schedule on Saturday with UFC on ESPN 45, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas with a main card that airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+.

A rare non-title flyweight bout gets the main event spotlight. Former interim title challenger [autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] (24-10 MMA, 7-3 UFC) is set to takes on surging contender [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in a high stakes matchup scheduled for five rounds.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card – which features two of the longest-tenured veterans on the roster – check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC on ESPN 45.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (April 17-23)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from April 17-23.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (March 13-19)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from March 13-19.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 9-15)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Jan. 9-15.

UFC adds Alex Caceres vs. Nate Landwehr to San Antonio lineup

UFC on ESPN 43 has added a fan-favorite featherweight throwdown between finishers Alex Caceres and Nate Landwehr.

Two fan-favorite featherweights will collide in Texas this March.

At UFC on ESPN 43, [autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag] (20-13 MMA, 15-11 UFC) and [autotag]Nate Landwehr[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) will collide in a 145-pound bout. The event takes place March 25 at AT&T Center in San Antonio.

Two people with knowledge of the booking recently confirmed the matchup to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. BRKRZ first reported the booking Wednesday.

Caceres, 34, has been a member of the UFC roster since a stint on “The Ultimate Fighter 12” in 2010. Despite his longevity with the promotion, he’s withstood the tests of time and is on one of the best stretches of his career, 6-1 in his most recent seven. In December, Caceres added another highlight to the reel when he knocked out Julian Erosa with a head kick and punches.

Landwehr, 34, enters the bout on a two-fight winning streak. In his most recent fight, Landwehr made the most of a high-profile opportunity when he won a “Fight of the Year” candidate against David Onama in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN 41 in San Diego.

With the addition, the UFC on ESPN 43 lineup includes:

Maycee Barber vs. Andrea Lee
Albert Duraev vs. Chidi Njokuani
Daniel da Silva vs. C.J. Vergara
Holly Holm vs. Yana Kunitskaya
Manel Kape vs. Alex Perez
Sean Brady vs. Michel Pereira
Tucker Lutz vs. Daniel Pineda
Trevin Giles vs. Preston Parsons
Alex Caceres vs. Nate Landwehr

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Alex Caceres: UFC Fight Night 216 knockout win ‘as good as it can get’

In the past 11 years, Alex Caceres has plenty of UFC wins to choose from as the best of his career, and Saturday’s ranks right up there.

LAS VEGAS – In the past 11 years, [autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag] has plenty of UFC wins to choose from – 15 to be exact – as the best of his career, and his triumph at UFC Fight Night 216 ranks right up there.

In their featherweight bout Saturday, Caceres high-kicked his way to victory when he finished Julian Erosa (28-10 MMA, 6-6 UFC) at the 3:04 mark of the first round. After some technical striking leading up to the finish, Caceres (20-13 MMA, 15-11 UFC) ended the bout when he hid a kick behind his punch on the left side. When the punch missed, the kick was there and landed flush. Erosa didn’t see it and was immediately floored for the knockout.

“I felt it was as good as it can get honestly,” Caceres told MMA Junkie and other reporters backstage at the UFC Apex. “I came out the fight unscathed, I defended nearly every strike, and I got the first-round knockout, so I couldn’t do it better myself, you know? I did do it.”

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Caceres said he didn’t specifically work on the fight-ending move. It was just there.

Caceres, 34, is on the best run of his career, having won six of his past seven fights. Looking ahead, all he cares about is fighting again sooner than later.

“As soon as I can. I don’t like sitting out,” Caceres said. “… I need to be in there. I want to be more active. To me, it’s not about getting anywhere. I just love doing it. If you keep me away from doing things I love, I’m gonna get frustrated. So just put me back in as quick as you can.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 216.

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UFC Fight Night 216 post-event facts: Drew Dober ties Dustin Poirier’s knockout record

Drew Dober tied Dustin Poirier for the most knockout wins in UFC lightweight history with his finish of Bobby Green at UFC Vegas 66.

The UFC closed out its 2022 schedule on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 216, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The main event of the 42nd and final fight card of the year saw [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag] (16-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) squeak out a split decision win over [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (25-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) in a matchup of middleweight contenders.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 216.