Main-card welterweight action at UFC Vegas 98 found Daniel Rodriguez looking to pull out of a tailspin opposite Alex Morono.
“D-Rod” had lost three straight, albei-t in high-profile match-ups with Neil Magny, Ian Machado Garry, and most recently Kelvin Gastelum. Still, he was badly in need of a win against Morono, who had been trading wins and losses over his past four fights or so.
Even with his recent losing streak, Rodriguez entered this contest as a (-220) betting favorite.
In the opening minutes Rodriguez pressured forward in the southpaw stance, trying to find a home for his straight left hand. Morono was repeatedly able to counter Rodriguez as he came in with powerful right hands. The opening five minutes seemed to go to Morono, whose volume and counter punching swayed the round in his favor.
In round two the constant pressure of Rodriguez seemed to wear on Morono, who slowed down with his output. Rodriguez out landed Morono in the second and evened the fight at one round a piece. After two highly competitive rounds both fighters were involved in a war of attrition, needing one round to secure a victory.
Morono tried to keep Rodriguez at distance in the final round, but the California native pressured forward with left hands to the body and head. Morono never made a significant effort to take the fight to the ground, with both competitors electing to stand and trade. In the final thirty seconds, Rodriguez landed the first and only takedown of the fight.
Going to the scorecards both Rodriguez and Morono thought they had done enough to earn the victory. The first judge Sal D’mato scored the fight 29-28 for Morono, while the other two saw the contest 29-28 for Rodriguez. The hard fought split decision victory for Rodriguez pushes his UFC record to 8-4.
Official Result: Daniel Rodriguez def. Alex Morono by Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
