Niko Price gets the win back, defeats Alex Morono in rematch at UFC 302
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to us tonight, June 1, 2024, for UFC 302, going down live from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Headlining the event is a lightweight championship affair showcasing no. 1 pound-for-pound ranked Islam Makhachev (25-1), who attempts to make the third defense of his title tonight opposing no. 4 ranked former interim champion Dustin Poirier (30-8) in the main event of the evening.
Co-headlining the event is a middleweight bout between no. 1 ranked former champion Sean Strickland (28-6) and no. 7 ranked former title challenger Paulo Costa (14-3).
The second placed bout on the main card tonight came in the welterweight division between Niko Price (16-7) and Alex Morono (24-10), a rematch of their 2017 encounter; Price KO’d Morono in that bout back at UFC Fight Night: Korean Zombie vs Bermudez, though it was later overturned to a no contest after Price tested positive for marijuana.
Price came into tonight’s main card slot on a two-fight skid, while Morono came in having gone 2-2 over his last four.
Continue reading to see how this welterweight encounter went down:
Official Result: Niko Price def. Alex Morono via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Price sat Morono down with a punch after catching a kick he threw and put him on his back. Morono locked up an omoplata from here and a weird scramble ensued, ultimately seeing Morono in dominant position with backmount. Price eventually spun into Morono’s guard, who again threw his legs up in search of a submission.
Morono eventually got back to his feet and landed a few good punches as the opening round came to a close.
Morono started to pick Price apart on the feet in the early stages of the second, before Price landed a big right hand and soon after secured a double leg takedown, controlling him for the remainder of the round.
Price landed a big right uppercut midway through the third and final round and secured another easy double leg immediately following. Once Morono got back to his feet he just didn’t seem to have the energy to be effective anymore, Price out-striking him through the remainder of the fight.
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