Inför returmötet i Oktagonen mellan de två forna titelutmanarna tog flugviktaren tillfället att prata om sina erfarenheter angående det första mötet.
Det är nu tre och ett halvt år sen John Moraga (14-2) åkte på sin första proffsförlust i Punta Cana, Dominikanska republiken. Imorgon möter han mannen han såg sig besegrad mot den kvällen, John ”The Magician” Dodson (15-6), på huvudkortet för UFC Fight Night 42: Hendersson vs Khabilov.
Han hade bland annat åsikter om hur deras förra möte organiserades:
”It was a bogus situation. No doctors, no timers, no official refs. They pulled guys out of the crowd and asked them if they wanted to be judges. I heard they were drinking beer and junk and we didn’t get paid.
We had to track the promoter down to make him write our checks. So we surrounded his hotel room to make him write our checks out.”
”Bad experience but good experience, I guess. It was a good experience in the cage. I was able to fight my first high caliber [opponent] and prove to me that I was at that level.”
”I thought personally, that I won the fight. We were never actually able to see the video… I guess the production company [who filmed it] wasn’t paid so the video has never even been released.
I don’t even know why that’s on my record because those judges were just bystanders that were junk.”
Inför den kommande matchen hade dock Moraga mer positiva saker att säga:
”I’ve improved everywhere. Ground, wrestling, striking, everywhere. I’ve been working on everyhtin for four years, being in the gym non-stop.”
”[Dodson] is definitely fast but I think he’s faster with his feet than he is with his hands. So he covers distance very well and I don’t. So he has the advantage there. But he’s not faster than me with the hands. He’s not faster than me when it comes to actually sitting there, in the pocket, throwing down. People are going to see that.”
”I’m coming after him”.
