NEW YORK – Michael Morales has a case to get the next shot at the UFC welterweight title, but he’s not going to plead or try to convince the UFC to do so.
Morales (19-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) made a big statement Saturday with his knockout win over top contender Sean Brady (18-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) at UFC 322. Morales stopped Brady at a packed Madison Square Garden in New York to open up in style the two championship fights that headlined the event. It was a big moment for Morales, and one that has some people wanting him to get a crack at the newly crowned UFC welterweight champion, Islam Makhachev.
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However, unlike other contenders who are actively making their case online and in the media for the next title shot, the Ecuadorian star wants to sit back and let the UFC matchmakers do their thing.
“I don’t care. The UFC is the one that decides,” Morales told reporters at the UFC 322 post-fight press conference. “I’m not one to be asked if I want to fight this person, and I say no. If they ask me to fight (Prates), I’ll fight him. It doesn’t matter. If they tell me I need to wait a little more for the title, then I’ll wait. As long as they keep giving me fights, I’m happy. I take it step by step. I’m not desperate. I’m young, and I’m just making the most of the opportunities that God gives me.
“If the fight with Prates goes down or with Belal (Muhammad) or Ian Garry, or whoever, I’ll wait for my opportunity and accept it. I think it’s more than clear that I kept my promise. I promised to win in the first round, and I did that. The other fighters didn’t keep their promise. So whoever gets the next title shot depends on what (Dana White) decides.”
Morales, 26, has wrecked through the UFC welterweight division since joining the promotion through Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021. In his last three outings, Morales has picked up three first-round finishes, putting away respectable names like Neil Magny, Gilbert Burns and now Brady.
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As far as what Morales things of the new champion, he expected the dynamic that shown on Saturday night. He just thought the result would be different.
“I went with Jack Della Maddalena,” Morales said reflecting on the UFC 322 main event. “It was a very difficult fight. We knew that Islam wanted to take the least amount of damage and wrestle as much as he could. We knew that was his strategy. That’s the way he fought, and he did it well. Jack gave it his all to get the fight back to the feet, but wasn’t able to. We saw this coming. We knew that he wanted to take down Jack and avoid the striking. I knew he was going to do that. He wanted to take down Jack and stay away from his punches because he knows he’s in another weight class and here the shots are harder compared to 155. It was obvious he was going to do that. He did it well, and now we have a double champ at welterweight, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Michael Morales not stressing over UFC title shot
