Alexander Quincy Morono (born August 16, 1990) is an American professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

who currently fights as a

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. A professional competitor since 2010, Morono has also fought for

Legacy Fighting Championship Legacy Fighting Alliance is an American mixed martial arts promotion, created as a result of the ''Legacy Fighting Championship'' and ''Resurrection Fighting Alliance'' merger in early 2017. History Resurrection Fighting Alliance On October 11, ...

, where he was the Welterweight Champion.

Background

Morono was born and raised in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, alongside three brothers. Alex's parents bought him a membership to LA Boxing gym where he began training in 2007, eventually noticing a jiu-jitsu class in the premises. He went on to join the class and was instantly hooked to the discipline. Morono also holds a professional kickboxing record of 1–0. Morono also cited ''

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...

'' as inspiration for getting into MMA. Morono earlier had the nickname of 'Baby Fedor' before he got 'The Great White' nickname after a sparring session.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

In 2010, Morono began competing in

amateur series, amassing a record of 3–0–1. Later that same year, Morono made his professional MMA debut, winning 21 seconds into the first round by armbar. On December 4, 2015, Morono won the

Welterweight Championship with a first-round guillotine choke over

Derrick Krantz Derrick Krantz (born January 13, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2008, he has also compete ...

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Morono stepped in on just over a week's notice to face

Kyle Noke Kyle Noke (born 18 March 1980) is an Australian retired mixed martial artist who competed as a Welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2002, Noke has also fought for EliteXC. Background Noke, origina ...

replacing an injured

Kelvin Gastelum Kelvin Gastelum (born October 24, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Gastelum has competed for the UFC since he won '' The Ul ...

UFC 195 ''UFC 195: Lawler vs. Condit'' was a mixed martial arts event held on January 2, 2016, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was expected to feature a UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship bout between then-unde ...

. Morono was awarded a split decision victory. Morono was expected to face

James Moontasri James Moontasri ( th, เจมส์ มูลทาศรี; born April 10, 1988) is a retired German-born American mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division. Moontasri has competed in RFA and is currently signed with the ...

on October 15, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 97. However, the promotion announced on October 6 that they had cancelled the event entirely. In turn, the pairing was quickly rescheduled and eventually took place on December 17, 2016 at

UFC on Fox 22 ''UFC on Fox: VanZant vs. Waterson'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 22'') was a mixed martial arts event promoted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship and held on December 17, 2016, at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. Background After pr ...

. Morono won the fight by unanimous decision. Morono was expected to face

Sheldon Westcott Sheldon Westcott (born August 10, 1985) is a Canadian mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is also known for being a contestant and finalist on The Ultimate Fighter for Te ...

on February 4, 2017 at

UFC Fight Night 104 ''UFC Fight Night: Bermudez vs. The Korean Zombie'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 104'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 4, 2017, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Background A feathe ...

. However, Westcott pulled out of the fight in early January and was replaced by

Niko Price Nicholas Gordon Price (born September 29, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist currently fighting in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Born and raised in Cape Coral, Florida, Price attended Marine ...

. He lost the fight via knockout at the end of the second round; however this was later overturned to a no contest after Price tested positive for marijuana. Morono faced

Keita Nakamura is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist and grappler currently competing in the Welterweight division of RIZIN. A professional competitor since 2003, he has formerly competed for the UFC, World Victory Road, Pancrase, Shooto, DREAM, ...

on September 23, 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Saint Preux vs. Okami. He lost the fight by split decision. Morono faced Joshua Burkman on February 18, 2018 at

UFC Fight Night 126 ''UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Medeiros'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 126'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on February 18, 2018, at Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, United State ...

. He won the fight via a guillotine choke submission in the first round. Morono faced

Jordan Mein Jordan Taylor Mein (born October 10, 1989) is a Canadian professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Welterweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2006, Mein has also formerly competed for Ultimate F ...

on July 28, 2018 at

UFC on Fox 30 ''UFC on Fox: Alvarez vs. Poirier 2'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 30'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 28, 2018 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Background The ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. After the loss, Morono decided to change camps, joining Fortis MMA. Morono faced

Song Kenan Song Kenan (; born March 10, 1990) is a Chinese mixed martial artist who competes as a welterweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life and education Song got into martial arts in fifth grade as he began training in traditional C ...

on November 24, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 141. He won the fight via unanimous decision. The win also earned him the ''Fight of the Night'' bonus. Morono faced

Zak Ottow Zachary Ottow (born ) is an American mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2011, he has also competed for King of the Cage. Background ...

on March 9, 2019 at

UFC on ESPN+ 4 UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Edwards (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 4'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 20, 2019 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Background The event ma ...

. He won the fight via verbal submission due to elbow strikes in the first round. Morono faced

Max Griffin Max Griffin (born November 29, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist. Griffin currently competes in the Welterweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2009, Griffin has also c ...

on October 12, 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 19. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Morono was scheduled to face

Dhiego Lima Dhiego Lima (born January 31, 1989) is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist who competed in the welterweight division of the UFC. Mixed martial arts career Lima was born and spent his early childhood in the Brazilian city of Goiânia and b ...

on February 8, 2020 at

UFC 247 ''UFC 247: Jones vs. Reyes'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 8, 2020 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Light Heavyweight Championship ...

. However on January 22, 2020, Lima was forced to withdraw from the bout due to a neck injury, and he was replaced by

Khaos Williams Kalinn "Khaos" Williams (born March 30, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Williams got his first taste of knockouts in 2008 when he floored anoth ...

. He lost the fight via knockout in round one. Morono faced Rhys McKee on November 14, 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. dos Anjos. He won the fight via unanimous decision. As the first fight of his new multi-fight contract, Morono faced

Anthony Pettis Anthony Paul Pettis (born January 27, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to the Professional Fighters League. Pettis formerly fought in the Welterweight, Lightweight, and Featherweight divisions of th ...

at UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal on December 19, 2020. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Morono faced

Donald Cerrone Donald Cerrone (born March 29, 1983), known professionally by his nickname "Cowboy", is an American retired mixed martial artist, actor, and former professional kickboxer. He competed in the Lightweight and Welterweight division for the Ultimat ...

, replacing Diego Sanchez on May 8, 2021 at UFC on ESPN 24. He won the fight via technical knockout late in the first round. This fight earned him the

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

award. Morono faced

David Zawada David Zawada (born ) is a German mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional since 2010, he has formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW), and Respect ...

, replacing

Sergey Khandozhko Sergey Khandozhko (born May 19, 1992) is a retired Russian male mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background While in the first grade, his parents signed Sergey to the sambo/judo ...

, on September 4, 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 191 ''UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 191 '' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 49'' and ''UFC Vegas 36'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 4, 2021 at the ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Morono faced

Mickey Gall Mickey Gall (born January 22, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life Gall was born in Green Brook, New Jersey. He began training in boxi ...

on December 4, 2021 at

UFC on ESPN 31 ''UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Aldo'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 31'' and ''UFC Vegas 44'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 4, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevad ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Morono faced Matthew Semelsberger on July 30, 2022 at

UFC 277 ''UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 30, 2022, at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Women's Bantamweight Cha ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Morono faced

Santiago Ponzinibbio Santiago Ponzinibbio (born September 26, 1986) is an Argentines, Argentine mixed martial artist competing as a Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background He was born in Argentina to parents of Italian ...

UFC 282 ''UFC 282: Błachowicz vs. Ankalaev'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It took place on December 10, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United ...

on Saturday, December 10, 2022, replacing an injured

Robbie Lawler Robert Lawler (born March 20, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist who has been competing since 2001. He is the former UFC Welterweight Champion, former EliteXC Middleweight Champion, and has formerly competed in Strikeforc ...

. He lost the fight via technical knockout.

Personal life

Morono and his wife Janice co-own the Gracie Barra The Woodlands gym.

Championships and achievements

**LFC Welterweight Championship (one time) *

** Fight of the Night (one time) **

(one time)

Mixed martial arts record

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Josh Burkman Joshua Ray Burkman (born April 10, 1980) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist formerly competing in the Welterweight division. He formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the World Series of Fighting, the XFC, ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morono, Alex 1990 births Living people American male mixed martial artists American male taekwondo practitioners American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Houston Mixed martial artists from Texas Welterweight mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters