After 14 years, Alex Caceres is no longer a member of the UFC roster.
Earlier this week, automated social media account UFC Roster News reported that the fan favorite Featherweight has been dropped from UFC’s active roster. The automated account works by checking whether or not a fighter is eligible for a ranking, as the loss of that eligibility is a clear indication that a fighter is released outright or no longer under contract. Every once in a while — like with Brad Tavares recently — a fighter is re-signed after a period without a contract.
This is no such false alarm. Caceres has already found a landing spot in Mike Perry’s Dirty Boxing promotion, where he’ll face fellow UFC veteran Saidyokub Kakhramonov on June 14 in Miami, Florida.
“Bruce Leeroy” competed inside the Octagon 30 separate times, joining the roster via The Ultimate Fighter (TUF). On TUF, Caceres fought at 155-pounds, winning two fights via tapout before losing to Michael Johnson in the semi-finals. He made his UFC debut with just seven professional fights to his name and struggled out of the gate, losing his first two bouts.
After the losses, Caceres dropped to Bantamweight and found better success. He went on to win five of his next seven, including a major upset win over future Bellator champion Sergio Pettis. By that point, Caceres was an established member of the roster. He would spend the next few years bouncing between Bantamweight and Featherweight, facing everyone from Urijah Faber to a Yair Rodriguez.
More recently, Caceres found a lot of success after settling in at 145-pounds. He won seven of eight between 2019-2023, which included high-profile victories over Chase Hooper and Julian Erosa. Unfortunately, that successful run ended with defeat in his last two appearances, as Caceres dropped decisions to Giga Chikadze and Sean Woodson in his most recent bouts. For whatever it’s worth, a majority of media sources thought “Bruce Leeroy” deserved the nod over Woodson last time out.
Regardless, the 36-year-old veteran’s official UFC record stands at 16-13 (1).
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
