Alex Caceres likes idea of Giga Chikadze next, but ultimate hope is Yair Rodriguez for UFC title

LAS VEGAS – Alex Caceres doesn’t typically cave into the public desire for post-fight callouts. But as he maneuvers through the UFC rankings, he sees some viable paths to the top.

Following his UFC on ESPN 45 win, Caceres (21-13 MMA, 16-11 UFC) mentioned his ultimate goal of a title and the hope a championship fight would come against previous foe Yair Rodriguez.

Caceres, 34, reiterated that desire as he spoke to MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference – but he also mentioned a potential matchup he thinks could get him there.

“I know we almost had that Giga (Chikadze) fight fall through a couple times,” Caceres said. “That’s a fight that’s always fun to have. He’s a karate guy, so it’d be fun to fight him. Like I said two times before tonight, I want Rodriguez to win the title so that when I climb those rankings, I get to take it from him. That’s always a fun fight to look forward to because I did have a five-round fight with him down in Utah. He edged me out by a split decision, and it was very close. It was very close, too close for me to let it go.”

Prior to Saturday’s bout, Caceres sat at No. 15 in the UFC rankings. He took on unranked Daniel Pineda, whom he defeated. As he spoke more broadly about his fighting future, Caceres said he just wants to fight someone ranked next.

“Fighting ranked opponents from here on out would be the fastest route to get there, for sure,” Caceres said. “I don’t know how many fights lie ahead of me. I am 7-1 in my last eight outings. That has to count for something. There are people getting rankings off two or three fights, or they’re coming off a loss and getting rankings. I think it’s deserving of me to maybe fight some ranked opponents. Two or three should put me in contention for the title.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.