UFC Fight Night 35’s John Moraga done overthinking, now seeking knockouts

Few fighters are as happy to ring in the new year as John Moraga.

After going 5-0 in 2012, the UFC flyweight and onetime title challenger fought just once in 2013, losing via submission to champ Demetrious Johnson at UFC on FOX 8. A nagging injury that flared up in the fight also prevented a quick comeback.

Now a week away from his return at UFC Fight Night 35, Moraga is approaching 2014 with a new mindset.

“In my last two fights, I wasn’t too happy about how I approached those fights,” Moraga, who meets Dustin Ortiz at the event on Wednesday. “I didn’t do me.

“I went out there and I started thinking too much. I was able to study my opponents, and see what they did, and I went in there with this stupid mentality of, ‘When they do this, I do this.’ Those days over. I’m going to do me. I’m not worried about what they’re doing any more.”

Moraga (13-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC), whose injury forced him to withdraw from this past month’s UFC on FOX 9, said he’s going after Ortiz (12-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) with just a few things in mind: victory and a bonus.

“I’m always looking to bring it,” he said. “I’m going for them bonuses. That’s what I’m fighting for. I’m fighting for the win, for the knockout. That’s how I want people to remember me when they bring my name up. I bring the exciting fights.”

The two meet on the FOX Sports 1-televised main card of the event, which takes place at Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga.

Ortiz had a considerably brighter 2013, earning three straight wins including a third-round TKO of Jose Maria Tome in his octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 32.

But Moraga said the fighter’s luck is about to change.

“He’s not afraid, so that’s cool,” Moraga said. “I respect a fighter like that, but that’s not the best way to fight me. I don’t see things working out too well for him.”

Moraga knows that with the relative size of the flyweight division, he’s never far from a title shot. There are a few competitors in front of him, such as Ali Bagautinov and John Lineker, who meet in a potential No. 1 contender fight at UFC 169. But with a few wins, he could be back in the cage with Johnson, whose win is still an irksome reminder of his mistakes.

“He did a good job with his footwork and setting up his angles,” Moraga said of the champ. “He made me chase him, which I said I wasn’t going to do. Once we got in there, things changed, and the enemy in me came out. I think the buildup to the fight, just people not knowing me, and me wanting to prove myself, that translated into me making some stupid decisions in there.”

With lessons learned, Moraga aims to put them into practice and make this year a career-builder.

“Hands down, I think I’m the hardest hitter in the division,” he said. “But it doesn’t matter what I think. It matters what I can prove.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 35, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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