Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) flyweight John Moraga is no stranger to adversity. The battle tested mixed martial arts (MMA) veteran has said he’s been viewed as an underdog in not just his career, but his life.
His bout with Sergio Pettis at tomorrow night’s (Jan. 15) UFC Fight Night event is no exception. Moraga will be competing in his hometown, but oddsmakers are slightly favoring Pettis.
Perhaps Moraga’s back-to-back losses to Joseph Benavidez and Matheus Nicolau have left some doubt in the minds of those oddsmakers. At a recent media scrum, Moraga said it’s all part of the fight business.
“This is the fight game. You can call it inconsistent, but this is what we do. (Those losses) happened to me. I’m not overlooking him at all. I know he’s tough, he’s well-rounded, he’s good everywhere but so am I. So let’s go.”
It’s clear that Moraga has his sights set on his upcoming bout. If he suffers his third straight defeat, he knows the possibility of receiving a pink slip from the UFC is indeed real. So much so, that he said he was “fighting for his life” against Pettis.
At the scrum, Moraga said his past has prepared him for these kind of situations.
“The pressure’s on me in a sense, but I don’t let it get to me. I feel like I actually perform best when I’m under pressure. My back’s been against the wall, even before I got to the UFC. I was never supposed to get here, and I was never supposed to stay here, so let’s do it.”
UFC’s upcoming Fight Night event takes place inside the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix. Arizona. The main event will feature a featherweight showdown between UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn, who is coming out of retirement, and Yair Rodriguez.
