If things are going well, there aren’t too many moments to exhale in a fighter’s life. It’s fight, training camp, fight, training camp, with maybe a week or two off in between for rest and recovery.
That was the mode Daniel Pineda was in following his second-round submission win over Tucker Lutz in March. It was the Texan’s first fight since June of 2021, he got a big win, big finish and a big Performance of the Night bonus check, and he got his chance to settle in and plan his daughter’s third birthday party.
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Then the phone rang. June 3. Las Vegas. Co-main event. Alex Caceres.
You know the answer to those questions.
“That’s how I’ve always been,” said Pineda. “I want to stay busy. Every three, every four months, man. Let’s go.”
Let’s go, indeed. “The Pit” has 45 pro fights over the course of his 15-year career to back up his claims, and even as the 37-year-old closes in on the big 4-0, he’s not backing down from his desire to keep strapping on the gloves and going to scrap.
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“I love fighting,” he said. “I just can’t stand cutting weight.”
Who does? We both laugh, and yeah, 15 years is a long time to be on a diet, but Pineda is feeling just fine, even as an elder statesman of the featherweight division.
“I’m 37, but honestly, I feel like I’m in my early thirties, late twenties,” he said. “I feel good, I feel healthy.”
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And he feels like getting into a fistfight on a Saturday night every few months. That will never change.
“Oh yeah, for sure, especially if you get the outcome you want,” Pineda said. “I did this last fight at home, fighting in front of your family, all your friends, that’s the enjoyment you get. But when you got your lows, if I would’ve lost, I would’ve been on the other side; it would’ve been one of the lowest feelings. So enjoy it when you can and just keep your head up and keep going.”
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Pineda is enjoying it, especially since he got the kind of big fight he wanted in the form of Caceres. It’s a co-main event against a “name,” and it has bonus potential. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday in Las Vegas.
“They say you want a money fight? Okay, well there you go,” said Pineda. “It’s a good guy, a good test. He’s been around, so I asked for it, and I got it. It’s a good fight. This is an OG fight. This is a fight between guys that have been through it all. I’m excited.”
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But more importantly, how does all of this affect his daughter’s birthday on Monday?
“She’s getting a better one now,” he laughs.
