Alex Caceres Didn’t Want To Get Antsy After Rocking Sergio Pettis

UFC bantamweight Alex Caceres has looked very solid since making his way down to 135 pounds, winning six out of his seven bouts (although his split decision win over Kyung Ho Kang was changed to a No Contest after Caceres failed the drug screen for marijuana).

He put on arguably the best performance of his nine-fight UFC career at last night’s UFC on FOX 10, earning both “Submission of the Night” and “Fight of the Night” bonuses for his third round chokeout of talented prospect Sergio Pettis.

The fight was a back-and-forth affair in which Caceres was thoroughly outstruck in the first round. But “Bruce Leeroy” came back in the second round to drop Pettis with a huge left hand. While he couldn’t finish the 20-year-old brother of UFC lightweight champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis, he did show a ton of resiliency when he wrapped the younger Pettis up with a fight-ending rear naked choke with only 20 seconds left in the bout.

The 25-year-old Caceres very well may have lost had the fight gone to the judges’ scorecards, so his perseverance to finish the fight showed a ton of character. “Bruce Leeroy” was also very respectful of opponent after the fight, saying that Pettis has a bright future ahead in MMA (courtesy of FOX Sports):

Bantamweight is a very talented division in the UFC right now, and with Caceres on a hot run, it’s going to be hard to deny him a solid increase in competition. Unlike his MMA Lab training partner Benson Henderson, Caceres wasn’t content to coast along and hope to win a decision.

That’s the kind of fighting spirit that the UFC loves, and while it’s true that Pettis has a ton of potential, Caceres does too. Will “Bruce Leeroy” keep improving to quickly rise up the bantamweight ranks?

Photo: Tom Szczerbowski for USA TODAY Sports