But turns out that was the wrong goal. Twenty wins needed to be my goal. So, with a win on Saturday, that’s number 13. So 20 wins in the Octagon is my new goal. So I’m going to hit the 20-win mark, and then make new goals.”
To get win number 13, he’ll have to get past a fellow veteran in McGee, who has even more Octagon experience than Morono. “The Crusher” will be making the walk for the 23rd time in the UFC. It’s a matchup Morono admitted he didn’t expect to be offered, but he’s glad to have put pen to paper on a bout agreement to face a man he respects greatly.
“I was very excited to get this matchup,” he said.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a matchup coming. Every time I have an opponent in mind, they always just give me somebody I wasn’t thinking of, and it’s always exciting. Court was one of those guys.
“I think between he and I, this will be like 43 UFC fights, which is awesome. The veterans won’t be around forever, so being able to fight them while they’re still in the Octagon is really a goal. And it’s funny – in the blink of an eye, I’m one of those veterans now. This is fight number 20 (in the UFC). I’ll happily fight the new young guys, eventually, but give me the vets while they’re here.”
Morono also said that his respect for McGee extends beyond his own personal views. He said he even uses McGee’s remarkable journey from drug addict to world-class fighter and advocate for clean living as a good example to his students and teammates at his gym.
“It’s always more fun fighting guys you have respect for. I went and saw him yesterday and gave him a hug and told him I was looking forward to the scrap,” he said.
“Not only was he on The Ultimate Fighter, and I was watching him, I think on Spike TV, back in the day, but anyone who uses martial arts to walk a proper path, a better path, is always a story I can get behind. I like to use him as an example to my students of just making a healthy lifestyle. The martial arts lifestyle is a good, clean lifestyle. And that’s a story I can always get behind.”