Alex Caceres continued his fine run of form tonight with a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over Daniel Pineda at UFC On ESPN 46.
Round One:
Solid inside leg kick for Pineda. Body kick from Caceres comes off the arm. Pineda trying for a takedown, but it’s Caceres who ends up on top.
Caceres in half-guard here, but they quickly pop back up to their feet. Leg kick for Pineda. He looks to clinch up and Caceres is crafty as he gets on top again on the mat.
Pineda working for an triangle choke, but Cacares avoids that. Pineda working over to the cage and then stands up.
Back at striking range and Pineda lands the inside leg kick again. Caceres looking for a punch and Pineda ducks into a single-leg and works Caceres over to the cage.
Caceres defends well and turns into him. Pineda attempting a hip throw, but Cacares stuffs that and takes him down. Ground and pound from him in the center of the Octagon.
Body-head combinations from Caceres. Pineda suddenly in on an armbar attempt and it looks dangerous, but somehow Caceres is able to scramble out of that and then opts to back out and get to his feet.
Caceres steps into a nice body punch and then clinches up. They jockey for position and Caceres lands an elbow as he breaks away.
Caceres hurts Pineda with strikes, but Pineda fires back as the high-octane action continues to end the round.
Round Two:
Pineda with a big right hand and then wades in with another and again before clinching up and landing a takedown.
Cacares gives up his back as as he stands back up. Caceres turning into Pineda though. Pineda with an elbow and a right hand.
Pineda with an elbow and Caceres with a punch. They break apart and Pineda looks a bit winded. Caceres bringing him down, but Pineda scrambles on top.
Caceres trying to get his legs up as he fishes for a submission, but Pineda passes to side control and then takes his back.
Pineda gets the body triangle and wants to move into full mount, but Caceres turns into him. Pineda still with the body triangle though and that leaves them in a bit of an awkward spot before Pineda does manage to get to full mount.
Caceres giving up is back here. Pineda tries to get full mount again, but Caceres puts him back into his guard. Pineda looking for a couple of big elbows to end the round.
Round Three:
Solid body kick for Caceres and Pineda backs up looking hurt. Caceres comes forward, but Pineda swings for the fences to keep him at bay.
Pineda survives for now. Another body kick from Caceres. He lands a leg kick and Pineda stumbles to the mat. He gets back up but is clearly running out of steam.
Pineda able to work a takedown, but they don’t stay down for long. Pineda trying to stay in this fight with offense but then Caceres lands a heavy body punch that hurts him again.
Pineda still marching forward somehow and eats another body kick. Caceres with a knee to the body and Pineda pauses, winces and then gets back to it.
Caceres landing a few clean punches to the head now. Pineda grins at him. Caceres punches upstairs again.
Caceres gets the back clinch and brings him down. He lands a couple of punches and then Pineda somehow finds the energy to scramble back to his feet.
Back to striking they go and Pineda lands a hard right hook that momentarily drops Caceres, but he gets back to his feet before the final bell sounds.
Decision:
What an intense fight this was from start to finish, with Pineda showing extreme toughness to survive some brutal body work from Caceres in the final round. A late knockdown of his opponent wasn’t enough to swing the round in his favor though and so it’s Caceres who emerges with a unanimous decision victory (29-28 x3).
