Donald Cerrone has an opponent for UFC Vegas 26, which takes place this weekend (Sat., May 8, 2021) inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
With the clock ticking — and the show still missing an official main event — UFC has managed to put one piece of the puzzle together for its ESPN/ESPN+ broadcast this weekend: “Cowboy” Cerrone will face un-ranked Welterweight, Alex Morono, in a three-round affair.
The bout was first announced by C. Contreras Legaspi and later confirmed by MMA Junkie.
Cerrone was originally supposed to face Diego Sanchez in a fan-friendly scrap that was set to mark Sanchez’s retirement bout. But, some sketchy behavior from Diego’s coach and mentor led to UFC releasing “Nightmare” last week.
The GREAT WHITE!@AlexMoronoMMA transitions from guillotine, to full mount to the back and finishes with some vicious GnP! #UFCWichita pic.twitter.com/jpWHI6H7qo
— UFC (@ufc) March 9, 2019
Morono was last seen fighting Anthony Pettis in Dec. 2020 — a fight the Houston native lost via unanimous decision. Prior losses to Khaos Williams and Jordan Mein are nothing to be embarrassed about, and he’s earned wins over Max Griffin, Zak Ottow, Song Kenan and Josh Burkman over the past three years.
The Great White strikes again. @AlexMoronoMMA #UFCAustin pic.twitter.com/sgG2SI9AJ0
— UFC (@ufc) February 18, 2018
Cerrone is looking to bounce back from a horrible two-year stretch that him go winless (0-4-1) with three bad technical knockout stoppages. This fight on Saturday is considered do-or-die for “Cowboy,” and we think it just got harder now that he’s facing a hungry opponent like Morono.