UFC on FOX 23's Alex Caceres won't trash talk fighter he doesn't know – or Jason Knight

LAKEWOOD, Colo. – UFC featherweight Alex Caceres’ manager texted him recently to ask whether he’d fight his next opponent. Caceres, though, just wanted the details of when.

“I just texted him back, ‘Why are you even asking me?'” Caceres told MMAjunkie.

The “Ultimate Fighter 12” veteran had just gotten off a plane from a trip to Hilo, Hawaii, where he helped UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn prepare for a fight with Yair Rodriguez.

“I was probably the closest person in his vicinity to mimic Yair as well as possible,” Caceres said.

Penn ultimately was trounced by Rodriguez in the headliner of UFC Fight Night 103 earlier this month, while Caceres, who lost to the Mexican standout by decision in his previous fight, geared up for his next outing.

Caceres (12-9 MMA, 7-7 UFC) still doesn’t know much about his opponent, Jason Knight (15-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC), whom he’ll face on the FOX-televised main card of Saturday’s UFC on FOX 23 at Pepsi Center in Denver. Other than watching a fight and looking at a few photographs, he doesn’t have much to go on.

“I’m pretty sure he’s well-renowned within the fight community,” Caceres said. “I just don’t watch it on TV. I don’t know anybody unless I met them in person.”

Yet “Bruce Leeroy” feels pretty certain he’ll be able to perform, because his opponent hasn’t seen everything he can do in the cage, just as the opposite is also accurate.

“I try to forget about that and go with the flow,” Caceres said.

Working with The MMA Lab in Phoenix, Caceres said he’s trying to make sure he’s more than just a creative striker. Wrestling skills are an ongoing work in progress, and he said he’s gradually getting better. When it comes to what happens in the cage, he doesn’t like to plan out too much and will feel out Knight.

What he won’t do beforehand is push a narrative that’s inauthentic. The reality is that he doesn’t know much about his opponent, and the meeting is merely a test of their respective skills on one night. He got the text and the answer was already yes.

“A lot of interviews, especially the mainstream media when they’re marketing the fight, they want you to talk crap about the person,” he said. “They want to hear that egotistical confidence you have, the false machismo. And they try to bring it out of me, and it’s hard, because I have nothing personal against the person. It’s hard for make something personal against a person I don’t know.”

For more on UFC on FOX 23, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.