UFC Houston Results: Niko Price Leaves Alex Morono Laying in Houston
Emerging welterweights Alex Morono and Niko Price headlined the Fight Pass prelims in Houston on Saturday night. After two full rounds of wild action, it was Price who stamped an exclamation point on the bout.
Alex Morono was initially set to face Sheldon Westcott, before an injury forced Westcott off of the card. Niko Price stepped up on only 11 days notice.
Morono made his UFC debut at the start of 2016, defeating Kyle Noke by split decision. Morono then defeated James Moontasri in December in his sophomore UFC outing. That improved Morono’s win streak to seven.
Niko Price stepped into the octagon as the underdog in his UFC debut against Brandon Thatch. Price did not fight like one, submitting Thatch towards the end of the first round at UFC 207 in December.
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The win over Thatch was Price’s ninth of his professional career, with eight fights won inside the distance. The 27-year-old welterweight stepped into the octagon against Morono with a clean undefeated record.
Both men were light on their feet in the early going, throwing singular strikes as they jockeyed around the octagon. It was Morono who landed the first telling blow, a perfectly timed counter-right halfway through the first round.
With little more than two minutes left in the opening frame, Morono landed another hard left hook that dropped Price. Morono followed up with a series of punches but Price was able to recover.
That only partially pushed the tide back. The longer the first round went the more Morono was able to land and control the action.
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As the round came to a close Morono connected with a spinning back fist, much to the delight of the hometown crowd. Morono instantly landed a wild right hook that dropped Price for the second time, but there was not enough time left for Morono to finish the fight.
Price tried to regain control, pushing his opponent back with attempted kicks in the second round, but it was Morono whose confidence was growing. As Price reached with his punches, Morono landed regularly with jabs and hooks that tested Price’s resilience.
As the second round approached its conclusion both fighters were becoming more reckless. More than once they traded frantic punches and knees with neither man gaining a significant advantage.
The 10-second horn encouraged the fighters to take the crazy up another notch. As both men flurried, Price connected with a heavy right hand that dropped Morono right on the bell. The round was over, but with Morono still crumpled in a heap, referee Kerry Hatley stopped the bout. Price was declared the winner by knockout at the end of round two.
The win was the 10th from 10 career fights for Price, who called for a performance bonus, and any fight the UFC were willing to give him, in his post-fight interview.
