Alex Morono (16-5, 1 NC) makes a statement, taking out Zak Ottow in round one! The former Legacy FC champ is 10-2 (1 NC) in his last 13. He owns 11 finishes, 10 in the opening frame. #UFCWichita pic.twitter.com/AxgFLSIG72
— Bulgogi Jones (@Hamderlei) March 9, 2019
Welterweights
#12 WW | Anthony Pettis (23-10, 10-8 UFC) vs. NR | Alex Morono (18-6, 7-3 UFC)It was a surprise to see the UFC add yet another fight to this card on late notice, but this should be a fun affair. After an extremely rough stretch that saw him go from lightweight champion to aimless veteran, it was nice to see Pettis turn things around with his move to welterweight and a 2018 win over Michael Chiesa. After years of unsuccessfully trying to patch the holes in his game, Pettis fully leaned back into the “Showtime” style that led to most of his success, and while it is an inconsistent approach, he has looked much more comfortable in the cage as a result. A sudden knockout of Stephen Thompson in 2019 led to some hope that Pettis could find a surprising resurgence, but losses to Nate Diaz and Diego Ferreira cooled that a bit. A win over Donald Cerrone in May showed that Pettis still has something to offer, and now comes this completely off-the-radar fight against Morono. To his credit, Morono has managed to be one of the most consistently entertaining fighters in the UFC—and a surprisingly successful one—despite being a clear negative as an athlete. Morono consistently fights to a smart game plan while being as aggressive as possible, consistently forcing his opponents to engage him on his terms. Unfortunately, while Morono has proven surprisingly durable, his combination of aggression and lack of athleticism can lead his to getting sparked in his defeats. Pettis’ athleticism-reliant style figures to hit a cliff as he ages, but he is still at the point where Morono should provide one too many openings for him to exploit. The pick is Pettis via second-round stoppage.
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