Welterweights Alex Morono and Carlos Leal faced off on the UFC 313 preliminary card, with both fighters in need of a win.
PFL vet Leal had come up short against Rinat Fakhretdinov at UFC 308 late last year, a fight that many suggested Leal had won – despite the judges awarding a unanimous decision in the other direction. Morono for his part had lost two straight, putting his back against the wall.
Leal was looking to pick up his first victory inside the UFC, having faced world class competition outside the promotion.
Leal marched forward to start the fight applying pressure early on Morono, who was fighting off his back foot. With Morono against the fence Leal landed a knee in the clinch, while also attacking the body. Morono elected to wing wild right hands to try and get Leal off of him. Leal started to open up throwing devastating combinations at Morono, including knees and elbows to the head. The longtime UFC veteran Morono was doing everything he could to keep the ferocious attack of Leal off of him, but couldn’t overcome the volume and intensity of his Brazilian counterpart.
Walking forward with no sense of a threat coming back at him, Leal landed lethal shots to Morono against the fence. Leal put together a violent fight ending combination throwing a short elbow on the inside, following up a flurry of hooks forcing Morono to cover up. Respected referee Keith Peterson called an end to the contest as Morono could no longer defend himself.
Leal picked up his first victory in the UFC winning by TKO in the first round. In his post fight interview with Joe Rogan, Leal stated that he believes he is “2-0” inside the octagon. After a controversial decision loss to Russian powerhouse Rinat Fakhretdinov, Leal has put the rest of the division on notice with this breakthrough win.
Official Result: Carlos Leal def. Alex Morono by TKO (punches), Round 1, 4:16
