Alex Morono could play the Rodney Dangerfield card if he so desired.
The often-overlooked Texan Will Hunt for some respect as an underdog when he faces Matthew Semelsberger in the featured UFC 277 welterweight prelim on Saturday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Morono, 31, enters the cage on the strength of a three-fight winning streak. He last appeared at UFC on ESPN 31, where he boosted his Ultimate Fighting Championship record to 10-4 with a unanimous decision over Mickey Gall in their three-round clash on Dec. 4.
As Morono moves ever closer to his forthcoming battle with Semelsberger at 170 pounds, here are five things you might not know about him:
1. Well-rounded skills tip his spear.
Morono holds the rank of black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Vinicius “Draculino” Magalhaes, and he has put those techniques into practice as a mixed martial artist. The Houston native has delivered six of his 21 professional victories by submission: three by armbar, two by guillotine choke and one by triangle choke. Morono, also a black belt in taekwondo, has never been submitted in his 29-fight career.
2. Known killers form his inner circle.
“The Great White” regularly operates out of the esteemed Fortis MMA camp in Texas, where he has trained alongside a host of accomplished stablemates, from Abdul Razak Alhassan, Damon Jackson and Diego Ferreira to Geoff Neal, Ryan Spann and Alonzo Menifield.
3. His portfolio features some gold.
Morono captured the Legacy Fighting Championship welterweight title when he put away Derrick Krantz with a guillotine choke 4:29 into the first round of their LFC 49 main event on Dec. 4, 2015. He made his Octagon debut less than a month later, as he served as a short-notice fill-in for Kelvin Gastelum and eked out a split decision over Kyle Noke at UFC 195.
4. Consistency has been a hallmark.
The Sayif Saud protégé has never suffered back-to-back defeats, following each of his seven losses with at least one victory. Moreno has enjoyed four separate winning streaks spanning three fights or more.
5. He places a premium on efficiency.
Morono’s resume features 11 first-round finishes, three of the sub-minute variety. He dispatched Jose Castro with an armbar in 21 seconds under the Triple A Promotions banner on Dec. 2, 2010, dismissed Mark Garcia with an armbar in 41 seconds at LFC 5 on Jan. 29, 2011 and punched out Larry Hopkins in 44 seconds at a Fury Fighting Championship show on Oct. 24, 2014.
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