UFC Fight Night 196 Predictions: Alex Caceres vs. Seung Woo Choi betting odds, breakdown

Alex Caceres vs. Seung Woo Choi will be a banger of a match-up featured on this weekend’s UFC Fight Night, headlined by Marvin Vettori and Paulo Costa. The two featherweights, Caceres and Choi, are both coming off extremely high points in their careers. Caceres is often viewed as a talented veteran fighter who belongs among the best but just can’t string enough wins together to do it. However, since 2019, he has managed to put together a four-fight win streak including halting the hype train of the young Chase Hooper, as he looks to make it five on Saturday a win over Choi would put Caceres in the longest win streak of his professional career.

For Choi, a budding prospect out of South Korea, Caceres represents the first major name on his UFC record. Luck was not in his favor first entering the UFC to future ranked fighters Gavin Tucker and Movsar Evloev, however, after getting past these he has more recently gone on a three-fight tear, most impressively knockout out Julian Erosa in the first round.

Caceres vs. Choi Betting Odds

Alex Caceres will open up the underdog against the young prospect.

• Caceres: +230
• Choi: -290

Caceres vs. Choi Breakdown

Alex Caceres often goes by the name “Bruce Leeroy” for a reason. His base is in traditional martial arts and his wide arsenal of traditional techniques make this evident. Often he will throw hook kicks, spinning attacks and demonstrate a plethora of creativity in the octagon. Although well-rounded, he is moreso a striker, and his submission and grappling games are more opportunistic than anything.

He uses a lot of movement, he uses the perimeter of the octagon and strikes moving backward very well. Often you will see him slide backward out of range and land a wide check right hook. The double-edged sword in his style is that because his movement is so creative and unorthodox he is difficult to hit, but when he is, he is sometimes out of position and off-balance, for example, watch for him to exit without his feet beneath him and his chin slightly higher than one would like.

Regardless, his unusualness forces his opponents to adapt to him in real-time as he is so hard to prepare for. He has six submission wins but he rarely chases them, instead snatching necks when tiring or frustrated opponents leave him an opening. This frustration usually stems from his excellent takedown defense and his scrappy and slippery style of grappling.

Seung Woo Choi’s style in comparison is much more by the book. He is a ranger striker who utilizes his reach well and has explosive and powerful hands. He has a good technical kicking game and leaves little telegraphing but his hands are by far more dangerous. The straight right is probably his best shot, but even if it misses, a wicked left hook normally follows.

In the past, it has been clear that his grappling game is much less developed than his standing game, however, in recent fights his use of framing and defensive clinch work has immensely improved. He will also land his own takedowns, however more for the purpose of disrupting the rhythm of the fight or stamping a competitive round rather than to chase any sort of grappling heavy game plan.

Caceres vs. Choi Prediction

This fight is a difficult one to call, Caceres has the experience and the creativity, but Choi has a bit more fire on his punches and moves a bit sharpener and cleaner. Caceres has a better overall grappling system but likely won’t try to implement it unless Choi initiates some sort of grappling offense, so Caceres’ affinity for engaging in striking matches probably favors Choi.

Prediction: Seung Woo Choi via decision.