Before, during and after the UFC on ESPN+ 4 bout between Alex Morono and Zak Ottow, UFC commentator Jon Anik made sure to repeatedly hammer home the fact that Ottow had asked for the matchup not once, but twice.
It was certainly a compelling storyline, especially given how the fight played out. Morono (16-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) utterly overwhelmed Ottow (17-7 MMA, 4-4 UFC) over the course of less than four minutes of welterweight action – to the point Ottow got out via verbal submission.
It was a pronounced performance from Morono, who used a violent offensive top game to put Ottow away (via Twitter):
Right after the finish, Morono was interview by Anik and the first question asked was about the multiple callouts by Ottow. That was of little concern to Morono, though, who were merely thrilled to get his first octagon triumph by way of knockout.
“I started training just because I liked watching the UFC way back in the day, so to get a knockout or a TKO in this octagon is like my life goal,” Morono told Anik in the cage after the win. “I wanted it more than any amount of money or anything in the world, and I got that tonight. I’m very, very happy with the performance.
“I was happy to get some top control, and the transition to the back came super smooth. My coaches said, ‘Flatten him out,’ and on the second time I didn’t really feel him resisting, so I just started going to town and got the victory. … The game plan went perfectly.”
With the victory, Morono is on a two-fight winning streak for the first time in his UFC career.
For complete coverage of UFC on ESPN+ 4, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
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