DALLAS, TX, January 31, 2012 – This Saturday at UFC 143 in Las Vegas, 26 year old Texan Edwin “El Feroz” Figueroa (8-1) makes his third trip into the octagon to face “Bruce Leeroy” himself, Alex Caceres.
A boxer and mixed martial artist following in his dad’s footsteps, Edwin was last seen in the cage taking out Jason Reinhardt at UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle back in August of last year. In that fight, Edwin put on a performance typical of what we’ve come to expect from him – gritty, hard-nosed, and relentlessly aggressive. He pushed the pace the whole fight through until the ref was force to call a stop to the action fifty seconds through the second round.
That win against Reindhardt was vindication for him after suffering the first loss of his career against another highly-touted prospect in Michael McDonald at UFC Fight Night 24. Taking that fight on but a week’s notice, Edwin nonetheless fought his heart out, exchanging strikes and surviving submission attempts all the way to the final bell in a fight that would earn ‘Fight of the Night’ honors.
These past two fights were cases where opponents (and fans) may not have seen Edwin coming but they’ll be watching for him in this next one. He’s not one of our best-kept secrets anymore. That much is certain after two victorious UFC performances to go along with 7 straight wins here in Texas to start his career, including one over Johnny Bedford. This Saturday’s fight with former TUF star will be the highest visibility fight of his career. Coming from a street fighting background in Miami ala Kimbo Slice and Jorge Masvidal, Caceres rose up through the regional ranks before appearing on The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck. He hasn’t fared well since the show, going 1-2 in the UFC, but the fans still know who he is. And he’s still a pretty creative striker with an improving ground game.
All in all, it should be a great fight with “knockout or fight of the night” potential depending on how long it goes.
“This should be an exciting fight,” he mentioned in a recent interview with UFC.com.”… two strikers with two totally different styles squaring off. He thinks he’s seen me fight and watched tape, but it’s a different world when you’re actually standing in front of me.”
Make sure you tune in to watch this fight LIVE on FX this Saturday night before the UFC 143 pay-per-view.
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