Steven Peterson discusses his pending fight with Bruce Leeroy, and ghost stories about the UFC San Antonio host hotel, following weigh-ins on Friday.
San Antonio, TX — The featured preliminary fight of UFC San Antonio promises to be a heated one. Featherweight Steven Peterson returns to action to take on none other than Alex Caceres, a.k.a. Bruce Leeroy. Both fighters have been trading wins and losses of late, and both will look to get back in the winner’s circle Saturday night.
It’s clear the UFC sees the potential for fireworks in the fight, which is why the pair are the last bout prior to the curtain going up on the main card. That was evident even at the staredown following the weigh-in Friday, where the two faced off in what could only be described as an intense moment.
We caught up with “Ocho” Peterson afterward, who told us that he’s “feeling awesome,” despite looking a little rough on the scales. While weight cutting is never fun, Peterson (17–8) said that he had a good cut thanks to the UFC PI. “I’ve got the UFC Performance Institute taking care of all my re-hydration needs with Trifecta so I’m really happy about that. They’ve stepped up in a big way this week and are taking great care of me.” Evidence of that, Peterson was sipping on a Ceralyte hydration beverage, straight from a massive milk jug.
“They put together a couple different drinks for me, different concoctions. I know it’s all good, all clean and it’s got me feeling right,” he said of the drink.
Peterson was clearly a little more relaxed than at the weigh-in, where he was laser-focused, but stayed silent. “I thought about saying something but I’m all business,” he said. “He likes to smile at the staredowns and I’m like, ‘that ain’t my thing.’ This is business. I’m coming here to hurt you. That’s what I plan on doing.” Bruce Leeroy’s antics certainly aren’t for him. “He wants to run around, play, put on a show. My show is violence.”
It’s nothing personal, mind you. Just the mindset Peterson carries with him into what is a violent sport. “You lock me in a cage with another man who’s trying to hurt me and I’m going to be violent,” said Peterson. “He’s trying to hurt me in a different way. He’s trying to be all flashy and clown me and I ain’t about that. I’m going to go in there and take him out.”
Peterson feels Cacares’ attempts to clown him won’t be just outside the cage, but with his flashy move set as well. However, said Peterson, “I haven’t seen him really rock anybody with his moves. He had some submissions early in his career but I don’t see him having an answer.” Meanwhile, Peterson himself has only been knocked out once (back in Legacy), “and I wasn’t even out. I was still there, I remember every moment, I remember the ref jumping in. I wasn’t happy about the ref jumping in. I wanted to keep fighting. In my mind, I’ve never been finished and Alex Caceres is not going to be the one to do that.”
UFC San Antonio comes in Peterson’s home state, and “Ocho” noted that “Texas has some of the best competition in the world, and it’s a shame we’ve had to fight each other coming up through the ranks. We’re fighting some of the best guys in the world just here in Texas when we’re fighting in the local scene, fighting for Legacy, working our way through the ranks.” While it’s been a long time coming, “the UFC is just now starting to tap into all the potential Texas has.”
“I love fighting in San Antonio,” said Peterson, who fought his second pro fight in the city, for Bellator MMA. A lifetime ago, Bellator 27 in 2010. “It was right across the street, I stayed in the same hotel. So everything’s like deja vu, I feel really comfortable here, and I should have a good crowd following me in Texas.”
That hotel, mind you, has rumors of being haunted. Peterson told us of his own experience at the Sheraton in San Antonio. “I have heard that [the hotel is haunted], and I’ve heard the stories from the UFC, certain people have their stories. Apparently there’s a little girl that likes to play in the bathroom, and mess with the sinks.” Peterson’s experience didn’t involve that little girl, but “my alarm clock started making static noises in the middle of the night. I was like ‘if that does that again, I’m going to do something about it.’ It happened like three times, ripped it out of the wall, I was like ‘no more, no more, it’s done!'”
Luckily, it didn’t make any more noises once unplugged. Do guillotine chokes work on ghosts? Tune in Saturday for UFC San Antonio (UFC on ESPN 4), going down live from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, TX, to see if they work on Bruce Leeroy.
