The UFC on ESPN 24 co-main event scrap between Donald Cerrone and Alex Morono was a tale of relevancy and opportunity. After a 0-4-1 run in his last five, the 38-year-old “Cowboy” needed to prove he deserved his #15 ranking and could still compete at the highest levels of the sport. For short-notice replacement Alex Morono, he had the opportunity of a lifetime on a week’s notice. A win would be by far the biggest of his career and move him from journeyman to established name.
Morono came out aggressive and pushed a high output on his older opponent. Cerrone offered a measured counter-attack and landed several powerful body kicks on “The Great White.” Despite effective kicks from “Cowboy,” Morono kept up the output and landed punches consistently. A few minutes into the round, Morono landed a big right hook that hurt the 38-year-old. He then tried to blitz Cerrone, but the UFC veteran was able to stay upright for a bit, but eventually, the ref had seen enough. And the fight was stopped with 20 seconds left in the first round.
Alex Morono now has a legend on his resume win column
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The 30-year-old Texan scored the biggest win of his 26 fight career, and can now say he has a technical knockout win over a future UFC hall-of-famer. It’s just the sixth knockout victory in his 19 wins. He moves to 2-2 in the UFC, following a December loss to former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis.
Cerrone moves to to 0-5-1 in his last six fights, and the fifteenth ranked welterweight seems in a career tailspin. The question is if this difficult run is enough to make him ponder retirement, or for the promotion to end their relationship with the popular star.
