Alex Morono looking to do “15 minutes of damage” against Carlos Leal and prove doubters wrong at UFC 313

Alex Morono is looking to prove the doubters wrong that he still is a top contender at UFC 313.

Morono is coming off a split decision loss to Daniel Rodriguez, which was his second-straight loss. The losses were disappointing, especially given that Morono feels like those are fights that he should have won.

“The last fight against D-Rod, I did more damage and landed more head strikes and I thought I was going to win a decision. I didn’t get touched with much, it sucks to lose a split,” Morono said to BJPENN.com. “With Niko, I had some post weigh-in issues which were my fault. Those are two fights I think I could have and in my mind should have won but I made some minor mistakes.”

After the losses, Morono was hoping to return soon to get the bad taste out of his mouth. He is set to take on Carlos Leal at UFC 313, which is a fight that Alex Morono is excited about.

“I grapple every day but it has made the fight camp at Fortis fun. I get to go toe-to-toe with all the solid strikers… Leal packs some power. He’s a Brazilian Muay Thai guy and I have fought guys like him, but I think we kickbox for the most part,” Morono said.

Alex Morono closing in on UFC record

Entering UFC 313 against Carlos Leal, Alex Morono knows people are doubting him after his last two performances. Morono knows Leal is durable so he’s expecting it to go the distance but is confident he will land the more damaging shots to get the win.

“15 minutes of damage and if I can get a finish, awesome. I’m looking to get more Octagon time,” Morono said. “If everything goes my way, I’ll hit he number two spot in most significant strikes in welterweight history. I’m number three right now and there is less than 100 between me and number two, who is Kamaru Usman, and by the end of the year, I’ll be number one.”

Should Morono get his hand raised, he says the goal this year is to be active and inch closer to 20 UFC wins, which is his career goal.

“I’m a vet now, like a gatekeeper status, but I don’t mind that. That means a lot of fights and volume. I want to fight at least three times this year,” Morono concluded.