Daniel Pineda disappointed he lost to Alex Caceres but “happy” he didn’t go down from the body shots

Daniel Pineda had a chance to enter the featherweight rankings last weekend.

Not even three months after Pineda submitted Tucker Lutz at the end of March, he took a fight against Alex Caceres at UFC Vegas 74. It was a chance for Pineda to enter the ranks, but in the end, it was Caceres who won by decision.

“It sucks that I lost. Don’t get me wrong, I like those kinds of fights, but I wanted to go in there and finish him. I didn’t get it done, but I am happy that I didn’t go down,” Pineda said to BJPENN.com.

In the fight, Caceres was able to land some heavy body shots and clearly hurt Pineda. Although Daniel felt incredible heading into the fight, he admits the body shots hindered his cardio and ultimately slowed him down.

Although the loss was disappointing, Daniel Pineda says he will learn a ton from the loss and how to protect his body.

“I was never hurt to the face, but I was hurt to the body. In the first round when he got me to the body, like this was the best I have ever felt going into a fight camp-wise,” Pineda said. “But him landing the body shots in the first round, I think that is why I looked so tired in there… Honestly, you do lose but it isn’t a loss because I will learn from it. That is something I need to work on is protecting my body. He was so long, I never thought he was in range to kick me, and he kept getting my body.”

Despite losing to Alex Caceres, the one bright spot for Pineda is the fact they got the Fight of the Night bonus. Pineda says his plan is to always put on exciting fights win or lose and hopes fans respect him for that.

“I’m happy I got the bonus, I love putting on a show, that is the way I fight. Put me in an arena next time out, this fight in an arena would have gone crazy. I put on shows, win or lose, I put on a show,” Pineda said.

With Pineda losing to Caceres, he’s uncertain what will be next for him. However, the hope is he can return soon and get back into the win column.

“I don’t know, I was supposed to be there at 15. I guess I will take a little step back because I didn’t pull it off, so we will see what is next… I’m going to get my foot x-rayed and if it isn’t broken, I will take a week off and get back into the gym. I just gotta protect my body from those f*****g kicks,” Pineda concluded.