Alex Morono and Joaquin Buckley each entered their UFC Vegas 80 bout off of second-round finish victories over fellow welterweights.
Despite a finish loss last year, veteran striker Morono has won five of his last six fights in the division he has been part of since 2016. Meanwhile Buckley made a name for himself off of one of the best knockouts ever but was unable to break into the top-15 at middleweight, and is now 1-0 in his new weight class as he looks to become a ranked fighter there. Morono is known as a smart and technical fighter while Buckley is known as a wild banger with knockout power, making this clash of styles an interesting one for fans.
Buckley opened the fight by charging into a takedown by sprinting across the octagon. Morono got back to his feet and clipped Buckley with a right, staggering him briefly before recovering and settling into a calmer pace. Joaquin fought southpaw while Alex fought orthodox. Two minutes in, the tables were turned when a big right hand from Buckley made Morono’s legs wobble for a moment, but he also recovered quickly. Joaquin regularly blitzed forward, swinging wildly while Morono backpedaled and looked to counter, with mixed results.
These big exchanges were interspersed with periods of both men feinting heavily with few real attacks. With fifty seconds left Buckley changed levels and shot into a double leg takedown which he landed. Morono quickly swiveled and almost arm-bar’d Joaquin, who managed to pull out and stand back up. Buckley shot another takedown in the last seconds of the round. Morono defended with a guillotine until a slam from Buckley bounced his head out.
The second round started with Buckley throwing a headkick and eating a clean counter which made him stumble back, but he was not really that hurt, moreso off-balance. Morono had trouble initiating exchanges, instead focusing on countering when Buckley attacked. Joaquin Buckley landed a big body kick halfway through the round that may have hurt Morono, but Alex played it off well after a brief moment where he looked about to double over. Buckley continued to hunt his prey, and despite having no huge moments he controlled the exchanges for the rest of the round.
Buckley opened the final round by swinging big and hurting Morono with a left hook in a wild exchange. Alex bled from the mouth thereafter. Joaquin simply walked down his foe, using his athleticism to control the pace and flow of the fight. Even an inadvertent groin strike did not stop Buckley. Morono tried to counter but when he did land it was ineffective, and his clean lands were few and far between.
Buckley had a moment of uncertainty when he got taken down off of a spinning wheel kick, but Joaquin got back up to his feet and kept pouring it on. Morono began to look badly hurt and even attempted a woeful takedown. Alex’s toughness was on full display as he continued to eat clean hooks. He dove for a leg and ended up on bottom in his guard as Buckley rained down hammerfists. Morono tried to get his legs high enough to land a submission but he had no such luck as Buckley was aware of it.
When Bruce Buffer read the scores it was no surprise that Joaquin Buckley was the unanimous winner, getting every round on all judges’ scorecards, with one judge throwing in a 10-8 for good measure. This was one of the best performances of Buckley’s career as he declared his destiny to “take the throne,” and asked for a chance to main event in the UFC in his post-fight interview.
Official Result: Joaquin Buckley def. Alex Morono by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
