Alex Caceres

Alex Caceres (born June 20, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2008, Caceres mostly competed in his regional circuit, before signing with the UFC to appear on The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck. Caceres' nickname, "Bruce Leeroy" stems from the character in the film The Last Dragon.

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 Cage promotion at "King of the Cage: Hurricane" in February 2009. His opponent in that fight was Eric Kovarik, who was coming off multiple consecutive 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 Championship 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.

Ultimate Fighting Championship Caceres made his official debut in March 2011 against Mackens Semerzier 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 replaced by promotional newcomer Jimy Hettes. Caceres was submitted with a rear naked choke at 3:12 of round 2.

Caceres then dropped to the bantamweight division and faced former WEC Bantamweight champion 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 faced Edwin Figueroa on February 4, 2012, at UFC 143 but lost the fight in a split decision. Caceres was docked two points by referee Herb Dean for 2 groin strikes.

Caceres next faced Damacio Page on July 11, 2012, at UFC on Fuel TV: Munoz vs. Weidman. He won the fight via submission in the second round. The finish also earned him the Submission of the Night honors.

Caceres was expected to face promotional newcomer Kang Kyung-ho on November 10, 2012, at UFC on Fuel TV 6. However, Kang was forced out of the bout with an injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Motonobu Tezuka. Caceres defeated the UFC newcomer by split decision.

The fight with Kang was rescheduled for March 3, 2013, at UFC on Fuel TV 8. Caceres won the back-and-forth fight via split decision. On March 20, 2013, it was announced that Caceres had failed his post fight drug test, testing positive for marijuana. Caceres was subsequently suspended for six months, retroactive to March 3, 2013, and his win over Kang was changed to a No Contest.

Caceres next faced Roland Delorme on September 21, 2013, at UFC 165. He displayed good striking skills and takedown defense, winning the fight via split decision.

Caceres was expected to face Mitch Gagnon on December 7, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 33. However, the bout was scrapped during the week leading up to the event due to an alleged visa issue for Gagnon, restricting his entry to Australia.

Caceres faced Sergio Pettis on January 25, 2014, at UFC on Fox 10. He won the back-and-forth fight by rear-naked choke submission at 4:49 of the third round. The win also earned Caceres his first Fight of the Night and second Submission of the Night bonus awards.

For his tenth fight with the promotion, Caceres faced Urijah Faber at UFC 175 on July 5, 2014. He lost the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the third round.

Caceres faced promotional newcomer Masanori Kanehara on September 20, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 52. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Cacares faced Francisco Rivera on June 6, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 68. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round, marking the first time he has ever been knocked out in his career.

Caceres faced Masio Fullen in a featherweight bout on January 30, 2016, at UFC on Fox 18. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Caceres next faced Cole Miller on June 4, 2016, at UFC 199. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Caceres faced Yair Rodríguez in the main event on August 6, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 92. He lost the fight by split decision. The fight was named Fight of the Night and both fighters were awarded a $50,000 bonus.

Caceres would next face Jason Knight on January 28, 2017, at UFC on Fox 23. He lost by submission in the second round.

Caceres faced promotional newcomer Rolando Dy on June 17, 2017, at UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Correia. Caceres came in strong in round one, knocking Dy off his feet. A brief timeout was called by the referee in round two to check Dy's eye and the fight continued. However, the referee halted the fight at the end of round two due to a doctor's recommendation regarding Dy's eye injury. Dy was noticeably upset by the decision of the referee and Caceres was awarded the win by TKO.

The bout with Wang Guan was rescheduled and eventually took place on November 25, 2017, at UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Gastelum Caceres lost the back-and-forth fight via split decision.

Caceres was scheduled to face Artem Lobov on April 7, 2018, at UFC 223, but the fight was cancelled due to Lobov's involvement with the Team McGregor bus melee.

Caceres faced Martin Bravo on July 6, 2018, at The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale. He won the fight via split decision. This win earned him the Fight of the Night award.

Caceres faced promotional newcomer Kron Gracie on February 17, 2019, at UFC on ESPN 1. He lost the fight via submission due to a rear-naked choke in the first round.

Caceres faced Steven Peterson on July 20, 2019, at UFC on ESPN 4. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Caceres faced Chase Hooper on June 6, 2020, at UFC 250. He won the bout via unanimous decision.

Caceres was scheduled to face Giga Chikadze on August 29, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 175. However, Chikadze withdrew from the bout due to tested positive for COVID-19 and he was briefly replaced by promotional newcomer Kevin Croom. Subsequently on the following day, Croom was removed and replaced by Austin Springer. At the weigh-ins, Springer weighed in at 151 pounds, five pounds over the featherweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Springer was fined 30% of his purse which went to Caceres. Caceres won the fight by submission in the first round.

Caceres faced Kevin Croom on February 27, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gane. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Caceres faced Seung Woo Choi on October 23, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 196. After surviving an early knockdown and illegal knee, Caceres went on to win the fight via rear-naked choke submission in round two. This win earned him Performance of the Night award.

Caceres faced Sodiq Yusuff on March 12, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 203. Caceres lost the bout via unanimous decision.

Caceres faced Julian Erosa on December 17, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 216. He won the fight via technical knockout in round one. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.

Caceres was scheduled to face Nate Landwehr on March 25, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 43. However, Caceres withdrew due to an undisclosed reason and was replaced by Austin Lingo.

Caceres faced Daniel Pineda on June 3, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 46. He won the fight via unanimous decision. The win also earned Caceres his fourth Fight of the Night bonus award.

Caceres faced Giga Chikadze on August 26, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 225. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.

Caceres faced Sean Woodson on May 11, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 56. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. 11 out of 14 media outlets scored the fight for Caceres.

On May 19, 2025, it was reported that Caceres had signed with Dirty Boxing thus ending his career with the UFC.

Dirty Boxing Career in June 2025, Caceres debuted with Mike Perry's "Dirty Boxing Championship" promotion, facing Saidyokub Kakhramonov at Dirty Boxing Championship 2. He lost via unanimous decision.

Caceres faced Shawn West at Dirty Boxing Championship 3, winning via TKO in the second round, with one second left on the timer.

Personal life

Growing up the son of a drug dealer, Caceres grew up in a less affluent neighborhood having a tough upbringing. When his father went to prison, he was molested by a rival drug dealer of his father's. These turmoils led his family to move to a more affluent suburb. He is Cuban and Dominican.

Caceres was influenced by the documentary Forks Over Knives. He is vegan. He has an interest in spirituality.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship Fight of the Night (Four times) UFC.com Awards 2014: Ranked #4 Upset of the Year MMA Junkie 2014 January Submission of the Month vs. Sergio Pettis Bleacher Report 2014 #8 Ranked Fight of the Year

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Sean Woodson Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Lewis vs. Nascimento

St. Louis, Missouri, United States Loss

Giga Chikadze Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. The Korean Zombie

Kallang, Singapore Win

Daniel Pineda Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Kara-France vs. Albazi

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Julian Erosa TKO (head kick and punches) UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Strickland

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Sodiq Yusuff Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Ankalaev

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Choi Seung-woo Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Costa vs. Vettori

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Kevin Croom Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gane

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Austin Springer Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Rakić

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Chase Hooper Decision (unanimous) UFC 250

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Steven Peterson Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Edwards

San Antonio, Texas, United States Loss

Kron Gracie Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Velasquez

Phoenix, Arizona, United States Win

Martin Bravo Decision (split) The Ultimate Fighter: Undefeated Finale

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Wang Guan Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Gastelum

Shanghai, China Win

Rolando Dy TKO (doctor stoppage) UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Correia

Kallang, Singapore Loss

Jason Knight Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC on Fox: Shevchenko vs. Peña

Denver, Colorado, United States Loss

Yair Rodríguez Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Caceres

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States Win

Cole Miller Decision (unanimous) UFC 199

Inglewood, California, United States Win

Masio Fullen Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Bader

Newark, New Jersey, United States Loss

Francisco Rivera KO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Boetsch vs. Henderson

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States Loss

Masanori Kanehara Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Nelson

Saitama, Japan Loss

Urijah Faber Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 175

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Sergio Pettis Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Thomson

Chicago, Illinois, United States Win

Roland Delorme Decision (split) UFC 165

Toronto, Ontario, Canada NC

Kang Kyung-ho NC (overturned) UFC on Fuel TV: Silva vs. Stann

Saitama, Japan Win

Motonobu Tezuka Decision (split) UFC on Fuel TV: Franklin vs. Le

Macau, SAR, China Win

Damacio Page Submission (triangle choke) UFC on Fuel TV: Munoz vs. Weidman

San Jose, California, United States Loss

Edwin Figueroa Decision (split) UFC 143

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Win

Cole Escovedo Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. dos Santos

Anaheim, California, United States Loss

Jimy Hettes Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States Loss

Mackens Semerzier Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis

Seattle, Washington, United States Win

Ketema Jahmal McLennan TKO (punches) G-Force Fights: Bad Blood 3

Miami, Florida, United States Loss

Matt McCook Submission (armbar) WFC: Battle of the Bay 8

Tampa, Florida, United States Loss

Farkhad Sharipov Submission (armbar) Best of the Best

Columbus, Georgia, United States Win

Joel Garcia Submission (triangle choke) XFN: Da Matta vs. Thorne

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States Win

Eric Kovarik Submission (rear-naked choke) KOTC: Hurricane

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States Win

Tulio Quintanilla TKO (punches) MFA: There Will Be Blood

Miami, Florida, United States Win

Eric Luke Submission (armbar) G-Force Fights: Bad Blood 1

Miami, Florida, United States Loss

Michael Johnson Decision (unanimous)

(airdate)

Win

Jeff Lentz Submission (triangle choke) (airdate)

Win

Paul Barrow Submission (rear-naked choke) (airdate)

Submission grappling record

Result Rec. Opponent Method text-center| Event Date Location

Dirty Boxing Record