Alex Morono eyes third-round knockout of David Zawada at UFC Vegas 36: ‘I’m looking to do as much damage as possible’

Alex Morono was hoping he would get a quick turnaround after he knocked out Donald Cerrone in the first round, but that wasn’t the case.

In May, Morono stepped up on short notice to face Cerrone and he scored a first-round TKO. After that, he was hoping to return in June or July but that didn’t happen. He has now jumped at the chance to face David Zawada on Saturday at UFC Vegas 36, despite it being on short notice.

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“Two weeks ago they had said this fight fell out and they know I’m down to take short notice fights so they hit me up with it,” Morono said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “I was already in good shape as Ramiz Brahimaj just fought, my team in Houston has 12 fights in seven weeks. It all worked out really well.”

Although Zawada has only been in the UFC for four fights, Morono said he thought he and the German would fight each other a couple of years earlier. When that didn’t happen, he still was paying attention to him.

With them now being booked, Morono is excited to finally share the Octagon with him. He also knows it will be a fan-friendly fight.

“Earlier in my UFC career I’d thought I’d fight him, he’s a lot better than his UFC record shows,” Morono said. “It’s a fun fight, it’s an exciting fight, he likes to stand and bang and has good jiu-jitsu. We have similar styles but I have a pretty big gap with experience in the Octagon.”

Entering the fight, Alex Morono says he’s in good shape and knows he can go a hard 15 minutes. He also expects to be the one pushing the pace. With that, he’s confident he will not only get his hand raised but will do so by stoppage.

“I expect this fight to go everywhere but I’m always looking for the knockout,” Morono explained. “Everyone knows what they are getting when they fight me. I’m looking to do as much damage as possible and I look for a third-round knockout that way I’m ready for the deeper waters.”

If Morono does get his hand raised, he hopes he can get a big-name opponent next time out. But, the hope for the Fortis MMA product is to get one more in this year. He hopes it will be in December when a few of his teammates are scheduled to compete.

“I’m at that point in my career where I’m getting paid well. But it was never about the money, it was about the martial arts experience and the challenge. That is the primary mindset,” Morono concluded. “I’ll tell you, it’s nice to be coming up on my fifth UFC contract. I have zero complaints about how much they are paying me. With a win, I’ll be looking at just under half a million for the year. I’m looking to get in, get some money and get back home and run my gym.”

Do you think Alex Morono will beat David Zawada at UFC Vegas 36?