In a stacked weight category like the UFC welterweight division, Michael Morales has stood out as one of the hottest 170-lb prospects in the world since making his promotional debut in 2022. Now, the Ecuadorian striker will take on a massive leap up in competition when he collides with perennial contender Gilbert Burns in the main event of UFC Fight Night 256.
Initially competing in the lightweight class during his first foray in the company, Burns made the decision to move up in weight, citing issues with cutting down to 155-lb. The transition to welterweight proved to be an excellent idea, with Burns winning four bouts in a row before challenging then champion Kamaru Usman. Nearly starching “The Nigerian Nightmare,” Burns sadly lost the fight by knockout after a technical masterclass comeback by his former teammate.
While his recent results haven’t been necessarily positive, Burns is still viewed as a top name at 170-lb. Possessing the arguable power, grappling and experience advantage, “Durinho” is seeking to claw his way back to title contention by turning away another talented young up-and-comer. For Morales, however, a win over a veteran such as Burns can be just the fuel he needs to punch his ticket towards his own shot at the welterweight throne.
Early years and pre-UFC career
Born just a year before the new millennium, Morales’s introduction into sports came at a very early age, being trained under his parents in Judo when he was just five years old, who were both accomplished judokas in their own right. It was when he made the transition to wrestling at 10 that he began to show glimpses of the incredible athlete he’d become, taking first place at a small handful of tournaments.
Upon turning 14, he switched his focus to mixed martial arts after joining Xtreme Fitness Machala at the suggestion of his father, where he has remained to this very day. Skipping the amateur leagues, Morales took his first professional contest in 2017, netting an exciting second round knockout in his debut. For almost the next four years, he competed largely throughout South America, mostly in his native Ecuador, winning his next ten fights, along with the Extreme MMA Welterweight Championship.
Proving to be a force of nature on the regional circuit, Morales was given the chance to compete for a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021. Putting on a show of domination, the young Ecuadorian dismantled the equally skilled Nikolay Veretennikov by unanimous decision to earn his position in the promotion.
A perfect run in the biggest mixed martial arts company in the world
Four months after signing the dotted line on his contract, Morales made his first Octagon outing at UFC 270, where he squared off with the hard-hitting Trevin Giles. Up until that point in his career, Giles had only been stopped by strikes once by future middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis, falling to the South African by knockout. Wasting no time in his freshman bout as a UFC fighter, Morales dazzled the audience by finishing Giles in just four minutes, dropping the former police officer and taking him out with swift ground-and-pound.
In less than a round, Morales had gained the attention of fans and pundits as a burgeoning new blood seemingly on a crash course towards contendership. And in his next three fights with Adam Fugitt, Max Griffin and Jake Matthews, he once more exceeded expectations, defeating all three in flawless fashion with his quickly evolving striking and grappling skill set. Now a bona fide prospect, Morales then locked horns with the 170-lb weight class’s most winningest name in Neil Magny, who still holds the record for most UFC welterweight wins with 22 at the time of this writing.
Squaring off with his first-ranked adversary, his match with Magny would be the perfect test to determine if the unblemished Ecuadorian was ready to stake his claim to being counted among the division’s top 15. Passing that test with flying colours, Morales positively bulldozed Magny, stopping “The Haitian Sensation” in round one by technical knockout. It was the first time Magny had been beaten by blows in six years.
So far in his stint as a UFC competitor, Morales has stayed perfect, looking leagues above his past five opponents, despite being the much younger fighter against several of them.
On Saturday, he goes toe-to-toe with easily the most dangerous foe he has come across in his professional career, Gilbert Burns. While he may have youth on his side, the Brazilian brings to the table a dearth of top-level experience and a world-class grappling pedigree forged on the mats of various world championships.
