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Welterweights

NR | Alex Morono (20-7, 9-4 UFC) vs. NR| Mickey Gall (7-3, 6-3 UFC)

ODDS: Morono (-210), Gall (+175)

It has now been over five years since Gall spoiled Phil “CM Punk” Brooks’ mixed martial arts debut, and it is still hard to know exactly what to make of the New Jersey native. Gall seemed to get the shot at Brooks due to happenstance rather than any sort of plan on the UFC’s part. Gall simply had the foresight to call out Brooks at a show UFC President Dana White attended, and that was apparently enough to get his foot in the door. For a few months, Gall essentially called his own shots with wins over Brooks and Sage Northcutt, but after that, he was basically dropped into the UFC’s welterweight division without much of a direction. Given that Gall had all of one professional fight prior to his UFC debut, it has not been a surprise that he has endured a few inconsistent years while he essentially learns on the job. Gall has obviously put in the work to build out his skills beyond his grappling. However, he has also struggled with a clear physical ceiling, resulting in a mix of one-sided wins over Salim Touahri and Jordan Williams and frustrating losses to Diego Sanchez and Mike Perry, each of whom managed to overpower Gall on the mat. The hope is that Gall eventually reaches a skill level to make up for his strength disadvantages, but no one can know whether or not that will ever come to fruition. At any rate, physicality will not be the issue against Alex Morono, who has put together a surprisingly strong 2021 campaign thus far. Morono was made to be a hardcore favorite. He is one of the least gifted athletes on the UFC roster, yet makes up for that with some smart game planning and relentless aggression. Skilled everywhere if not always technically pretty, Morono comes into his fights with a good sense of how to attack his opponent’s weaknesses, and while that sometimes gets him immediately sparked, he has managed to put together crafty wins more often than not. Morono’s reputation for excitement and his willingness to step in on late notice combined to get him some high-profile opportunities in the last year, losing to Anthony Pettis in a close fight in December before upsetting Donald Cerrone with a knockout win in May. After stepping in on late notice once again for a win over David Zawada in September, Morono looks to make it three straight victories for an undefeated 2021. This is a difficult fight to call. Morono does not offer much in the way of a physical barrier that has stifled Gall in the past, but he is also a much more skilled opponent than anyone the Miller Brothers MMA product has been able to overwhelm. Gall could just wind up clearing the bar to be able to clip Morono and finish him shortly thereafter on the mat, or he could find himself learning some more hard lessons against a craftier veteran opponent. Morono is the more proven entity at this point, so he is the rightful favorite, even if this could go any number of ways. The pick is Morono via decision.

Finish Reading » Smolka vs. Morales