CR Exclusive Interview with Alex "Bruce Leeroy" Caceres

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

Bruce Leeroy is quite the character. Coming off of the 12^th season of TUF, Caceres lost his first two bouts to Mackens Semezier and Jimy Hettes. Many people believed that he would receive the pink slip, but luckily, the UFC still saw something behind that beautiful afro.

Caceres decided to drop down to 135 and was going to debut against the former featherweight WEC champion, Cole Escovedo. Bruce Leeroy was a huge underdog heading into that fight, and rightly so, or so it seemed. Caceres dominated that fight from the beginning with superior standup and ground game.

It showed that the UFC was right in keeping him around, so his next fight was against Edwin Figueroa in quite possibly, the weirdest fight in modern MMA. Caceres kicked him in the groin twice and was deducted two points. Yes, two points. It seemed harsh and it clearly cost him the fight.

He lost a split decision that was highly controversial. But he came back with a strong performance over Damacio Page, in another fight that he was a hefty underdog in, with a 2^nd round triangle over “The angel of death”.

He’s riding his momentum into his next fight with newcomer Kyung Ho Kang in the first ever UFC event in China at UFC on Fuel 6. He sat down with us for an interview on this fight. Check it out:

Championship Rounds: So your next fight is against newcomer Kyung Ho Kang at UFC on Fuel 6. Talk about this fight. What’s the plan for training camp?

Alex Caceres: Well, first I am very excited for this upcoming bout against Kyung Ho Kang. He's a strong opponent and will be an excellent test for my ever-increasing knowledge in the octagon. On the fight itself, I plan to train upon all the aspects of martial arts.

CR: How do you believe fighting in China will affect your overall performance?

AC: Bruce Leeroy, china!  Do I have to say more?

CR: In your last fight with Damacio Page, your ground game looked extremely slick and on point. Were you surprised at all that Page tried to take you down so many times?

AC: In a way, I was. I mean, when you watch his fights he's striking most of the time. But it had become apparent that taking me down became his game-plan when he could not find his range and timing in our bout.

CR: Go back to UFC 143 with your fight with Edwin Figueroa. That was one of the more bizarre fights that I have ever seen in modern day MMA. How do you think the judges could have scored it for Figueroa?

AC: Eh, it is what it is…

CR: Talk about your experience on The Ultimate Fighter. What was it like being on GSP’s team and what did it change about you?

AC: Well, I developed an extremely convincing French accent [laughs]. But with all playfulness aside, my experience in the TUF house has set in motion a series of events that will very well hopefully carry me to a higher plain of consciousness.

CR: You seem to be becoming a much better fighter following each performance. What have you been doing differently to round out your all around game?

AC: Video games, lots and lots of video games. All types, I look upon them with an impartial eye...

Thanks again to Mr. Caceres! Make sure you guys go follow him on Twitter @BruceLeeroyGlow and support him in his fight on the 10^th of November.

UFC on Fuel TV 4 Prelim Recap

Andrew Craig's crazy comeback headkick.
Photo by SporTV.com

Overall, this was a very good night of fights.  We got to see a potential dethroner of Anderson Silva’s long reign show why he is being considered the next big thing in MMA, with his win. We also got to see a potential Fight of the Year and several other rising prospects show that they are ready for a step up in competition. Only two fights were not entertaining, that’s a rarity that there were only two. Anyway, into the recap!

Raphael Assuncao vs. Issei Tamura: Assuncao seems to have really rejuvenated his career at 135. So far, he has looked fantastic in his last two performances at bantamweight, following his KO loss at the hands of Erik Koch. He won this fight with a relentless TKO win over rising prospect in Issei Tamura. Assuncao controlled the fight from the very start and finished it early in the second round.

Possible matchups for Assuncao: Following this impressive victory, Assuncao is ready for a bigger test if he plans on making a title run at 135. Yves Jabouin and him had a very close fight back in October of 2009; in which Assuncao won a razor thin split decision over Jabouin. Yves looked fantastic in his last bout with Jeff Hougland, making for this rematch to be interesting. The winner deserves a top-15 or top-10 opponent.

Possible matchups for Tamura: Tamura was anything but impressive in his TKO loss to Assuncao. John Albert has lost his last two, despite the second being highly controversial, and a fight between these two could prove to be a loser goes home bout.

Marcelo Guimaraes vs. Dan Stittgen: This was one of the two fights mentioned above that did not perform. There were times where I was actually getting angry with myself for watching the fight. They were constantly stalling in the standup, with some of the worst standup I have ever seen, and doing nothing on the ground. Guimaraes eventually took the split decision in a fight that will do no good for either’s careers.

Possible matchups for Guimaraes: I thought that this would be one of the only times that both fighters should be cut for their performances in the Zuffa-era of the UFC (the only other I can think of is Maiquel Falcao vs. Gerald Harris). Him and Papy Abedi should face off in a loser goes home match; I have no interest in either of them.

Andrew Craig vs. Rafael Natal: Andrew Craig has a ton of heart, which was shown in his two UFC fights so far. He was being thoroughly dominated by Rafael Natal. The second round was looking to be a 10-8 and I was looking to be 3-0 in my predictions, but Craig put those to rest with a head kick. It landed flush and Natal went OUT.

Possible matchups for Andrew Craig: Craig is a hard fighter to find matchups for. He doesn’t look good but figures out a way to win. The guy is not ready for upper echelon but he should fight the winner of Jared Hamman-Michael Kuiper to decide where he goes in the middleweight division.

Possible matchups for Rafael Natal: One kick can end your night, no matter how impressive your performance. Natal lived that statement in this fight. Natal has not impressed me in his 2-2-1 stint in the UFC so far. His wins over Kuiper and Paul Bradley did not impress me in the slightest. Both him and Karlos Vemola had losses on this card so a rebound fight between them makes sense.

Chris Cariaso vs. Josh Ferguson: The flyweights still haven’t had a boring fight in the UFC. They have all been crazy brawls and insanely entertaining. Cariaso and Ferguson continued that streak as Cariaso outworked his way to a unanimous decision victory over the tenacious Josh Ferguson, who I presume will be cut after an 0-2 stint in the octagon.

Possible matchups for Cariaso: That is now 3 in a row for Cariaso, making him 4-1 in the UFC and 5-2 under Zuffa. Despite the fact that his wins over Mizugaki and Vaughan Lee are highly disputed, especially Mizugaki, a win is a win and Cariaso is slowly, but surely, working his way up to a title shot. With the flyweight division so thin, UFC executives are scrambling for title contenders. Cariaso should fight Louis Gaudinot next and whomever wins that fight, should move up to a number one contenders bout.

Alex Caceres vs. Damacio Page: Bruce Leroy has found his home all the way down at 135 pounds. After being very hyped following TUF, he lost two fights in-a-row making me believe that he would receive the pink slip, but ended up dominating former WEC bantamweight champ in Cole Escovedo. He would then lose one of the weirdest decisions that I have ever seen to Edwin Figueroa, a fight in which was highly controversial. Tonight, Caceres had the clear submission advantage as he continually went for submissions against Page once the fight hit the mat, eventually securing a slick triangle in the second round and earning him SOTN honors.

Possible matchups for Alex Caceres: While I was on Twitter, I noticed that Walel Watson had called out Caceres saying that their fight would be awesome. I agree, I believe that could very well be a fight of the night and a tough test for both young fighters.

For the Main Card Recap Click Here