Daniel Pineda, with his nickname as The Pit, fighting out of Houston, has a record of 27 wins, 14 losses, and three no contests, with a height of 5 feet 7 inches, a weight of 145 pounds, a reach of 69 inches, an orthodox stance, and was born on August 6, 1985.
Pineda was puzzled when he received a suspension after testing positive for a banned substance following his fight against Andre Fili at UFC Vegas 30 in June 2021. Pineda claimed that he had been prescribed Adderall by his doctor. Still, the commission did not inform him of any issue.
Daniel Pineda returns this weekend at #UFCSanAntonio
He has a 27-14-3 record, and holds a 100% finish rate pic.twitter.com/SEpG6fgX6p
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) March 21, 2023
He discussed the suspension saying, “The crazy thing about it is we told the commission about it before I even weighed in. So, before we even weighed in, they asked if I have taken anything and I told them I took Adderall on Monday, even my manager asked if it was okay if I still fought. Five days it’s not in your system anymore, but probably because I told them I got f****d.”
After serving his suspension and going through proper recovery, Pineda was eager to return to the octagon, particularly in front of his home crowd in Texas. He accepted an offer to fight Tucker Lutz at UFC San Antonio, knowing his contract was ending and a victory was crucial to ensure his continued presence in the organization.
“Real talk, the fans being there makes me want to fight stronger and f**king throw down."@DanielPitPineda feels like it'll be his time to shine when he fights in front of a crowd at #UFCSanAntonio ⤵️:https://t.co/wQDfplm0ln
— UFC News (@UFCNews) March 23, 2023
While Pineda is determined to win, his main focus is on putting on a thrilling performance for his fans. He is confident he can defeat Lutz and move up in the rankings with impressive victories. If he is successful in his efforts, Pineda hopes to be in the top-15 by the end of the year.
“Come the 25 of March everyone will remember who I am. When I fight I go there to finish. I don’t go in there to hug somebody and wrestle. I’m not there to wrestlef**k nobody; I’m going in there to fight. There ain’t going to be any humping. It’s not going to go a decision. One of us is going to finished in the first or second round,” said ‘The Pit’ about his fight plans.
And he jumped on the opportunity to fight in his hometown, “I haven’t fought close to my hometown in the UFC. This will be my first one. Not at home, but we are close enough. It’s two-and-a-half hours from here, so all my people from Houston are going to come through.”
What are the chances of Daniel Pineda getting a new contract?
The featherweight division is at a very strange place right now. Reigning champion Alexander ‘The Great’ Volkanovski has almost swept the weight class clean. New contenders like Yair Rodriguez don’t look super promising going into the next title challenge. If Daniel manages to maintain his impressive KO rate, the UFC might try to build him up.
For fighters like T.J. Dillashaw who got suspended for substance abuse, an eventual comeback was welcomed by the biggest combat sports promotion on the planet. In the same vein, Pineda can be hopeful too, provided he stays clean and actually picks up an impressive win against his opponent.
Who do you think gets his hands raised between Daniel Pineda and Tucker Lutz?
