Las Vegas, NV – The quick turnaround is no problem for UFC featherweight Daniel Pineda who gets right back to action against Alex Caceres at UFC Vegas 74 on Saturday night.
“They called at the perfect time. I was just getting out of a camp, I was getting fat, and I was like you know what might as well take it,” Pineda told reporters on Wednesday.
“It was good. Just feel like I’ve been in a long camp.”
Prior to his last fight, a win over Tucker Lutz in March, Pineda had been out nearly two years due to a string of injuries he suffered. Getting back into the octagon 10 weeks after the win over Lutz worked out just fine for a man looking to make up for lost time.
“I didn’t really get time to recover too much, but I think it’s good, because I didn’t really come out too much you know bumps and bruises there (in my last fight). I think it was perfect timing. Perfect timing, perfect opponent,” he said.
The perfect opponent is long time UFC veteran Caceres who despite having the longer continuous run in the UFC still has a few less fights than Pineda on his record.
“I think this opponent I think we make a perfect matchup. He’s a veteran, I mean I’m a veteran, I’m thinking I’m a veteran. I’ve been in the game for a long time. I think it’s a good match. He pushes forward at the right times. I push forward all the time. I think we’re going to give a hell of a fight,” said Pineda.
So should we expect a tough back-and-forth fight? Pineda says no.
“I don’t plan on making it back and forth. I plan on just finishing him,” he said.
“One or two rounds. It’s going to suck for a lot of people, but I will finish him.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Daniel Pineda above. He takes on Alex Caceres in the co-main event slot at UFC Vegas 74 on Saturday night at the UFC APEX.
