We weren’t sure who we were going to get, but it’s finally been announced that Donald Cerrone vs Alex Morono will feature as the co-main event. “Cowboy” Cerrone has opened as the betting favorite, despite being in precarious form as of late. Morono is younger, and although he’s less experienced, he may shock us by upsetting an aging Cowboy.
Donald Cerrone vs Alex Morono will give us some vintage Cowboy duking out with a last-minute opponent. Morono stepped in after Cerrone’s original opponent, Diego Sanchez, was released from the UFC. That doesn’t bode well for Morono, but it’s not like Cerrone has been on a tear lately either. He’s lost his last four fights, and MMA predictions say that Morono won’t be an easy opponent just because he got a late call as a replacement for Sanchez. Morono is 4-2 in his previous six bouts, and although he’s coming off a loss to Anthony Pettis (ironically, so is Cerrone), UFC betting predictions pull for the underdog as a strong value betting pick. Cerrone and Morono are similar fighters. Both like to keep on their feet, but either one can finish opponents on the mat. I don’t think it’s something we’ll see in this fight, as I believe it’ll be a strike-fest. Cowboy is probably best remembered for getting demolished by Connor McGregor last year, but that’s not really indicative of his career. He’s an excellent MMA fighter and could very well hand Morono another loss. If we look into the best MMA predictions, Morono is younger, and he’s looked good lately. So despite stepping into this matchup last minute, I like his odds to upset Cowboy. Take a look at the NJ sportsbook reviews for odds on this fight. You won’t get crazy-good value if you go with the underdog Morono for this one, but I’m still going to roll with him since Cowboy hasn’t won in what seems like forever. Borgata, one of the best NJ online betting sites, will give you money line odds of -135 for Cerrone, while the best value for Morono is over on Fanduel at +118.
Cerrone’s got better grappling skills, but I doubt it’ll come down to that, so Morono gets the nod from me. I don’t think we’ll see any knockouts, so I’m banking on Morono to go the distance and eke out a decision victory. My prediction: Morono wins by split decision.
