Alex Caceres and Damacio Page were both drinking in the last-chance saloon in San Jose in July. As they stared at one another from across the UFC on Fuel 4 cage, both men realized whoever lost their matchup would likely be sent packing from the UFC. To them, this was more important than a title fight. This was about being able to put food on the table. It was a ‘loser leaves town’ fight.

Page, as always, came out swinging for the fences, and who can really blame him? One hard shot to the chin could guarantee he would have a job at the end of the night. Caceres, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. Cool and calm, he weathered the oncoming storm from the Greg Jackson product, who unleashed a bevy of shots on the ground to his opponent – or so we thought.

“I was expecting a stand-up battle from Damacio Page,” Caceres recalls. “Then again, when we went to the ground, it didn’t feel like I was in trouble. None of the blows were really solid. I felt very comfortable, very relaxed. I knew he was going to blow his load sooner or later.”

Not only was Caceres able to dodge and absorb Page’s strikes, he was constantly threatening his opponent off of his back with triangle chokes. Clearly Caceres is a talented mixed martial artist, but he’s no Paul Sass. Opponents aren’t known for being sucked into his guard, then being submitted. Yet, time and time again, he tried to lock his legs around the neck of his opponent.

“I was able to get my knee on his biceps a couple of times, which was letting me get the triangle-choke attempts. I threw it a couple times in the first round, but I was fairly confident I was going to be able to get it – especially hearing my coach reiterate from the corner saying, ‘Keep going with the triangle because he’s going to fall into it eventually if he keeps throwing that way.’“

Luckily for Caceres he continued to listen to his coaches, and in the second round the submission attempt came off. Caceres locked his legs around the neck of Page, squeezed tightly, and for added measure he pulled Page’s head down to make sure there was no escape from the submission.

In a fight that largely determined how he was going to earn a living, Page did what many men would do. He took aim and threw shots that were meant to behead his opponent. However, at the end of the night, it was Caceres whose fight philosophy pulled through.

“They key focus I believe is staying completely calm. You definitely have to be super-calm when you’re underneath. This guy is going to be throwing mad, big shots at you. Unless you’re calm, you’re not going to see them coming. As a matter of fact, a lot of them just grazed my afro. I didn’t even feel them,” he adds.

“I know I have the abilities and the skills to finish my fights. I just have to wait for it.”

Afterword:

To date Alex Caceres has a 15-12 record in UFC, winning Fight of the Night when he defeated Martin Bravo in 2018.