Michael Morales is probably not the darkish horse of the UFC welterweight division anymore. The undefeated Ecuadorian blew the doorways off Sean Brady on Saturday inside New York’s Madison Sq. Backyard, doubtlessly paving the way in which for a 2026 title shot in opposition to the winner of UFC 322’s fundamental occasion.
Preventing out of a low stance to defend in opposition to the American’s feared wrestling, Morales (19-0) loaded up with lengthy, lunging punches early and rocked Brady (18-2) halfway via the primary spherical. He then repeated the favor once more only a minute later, sending Brady toppling to mat off an exquisite five-punch mixture. A number of extra follow-up pictures was all it took for Morales to earn the largest victory of his UFC profession.
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The official time of the stoppage got here simply 3:27 into the opening spherical, after which Morales donned a Spider-Man masks as he celebrated his victory.
“He is a stalky welterweight, any person that is actually sturdy, so the coaches mentioned hold that heart of gravity low,” Morales mentioned post-fight of his distinctive stance. “As a result of you realize on the walkouts — you scent knockouts and that is what is going on to occur. And pay attention, I received slightly undisciplined slightly bit, however I believe it labored and I believe everyone loved the battle.”
Morales (19-0) had quietly pieced together a sterling 6-0 UFC file previous to Saturday’s bout, which included massive first-round knockouts of Gilbert Burns and Neil Magny. Along with his seventh straight promotional victory, Morales strikes right into a tie for the second-longest win streak within the division.
“Pay attention, I’m not one to speak,” he informed Uncrowned forward of UFC 322. “I’ve been displaying, OK. I believe I have been displaying greater than telling. I’m somebody who’s not going again down from the problem. I discuss title challenges as any person who’s prepared to really go and do these items.”
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Brady had been the division’s assumed next-in-line previous to Saturday following his massive win over former champ Belal Muhammad at UFC London in March, which capped off an 8-1 promotional run.
UFC CEO Dana White declared Morales vs. Brady pre-fight to be a No. 1 contender bout, with welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena set to defend his belt in opposition to Islam Makhachev in UFC 322’s fundamental occasion. Nonetheless, with a slew of high welterweights in motion over the following two weeks — Carlos Prates additionally knocked out Leon Edwards on Saturday, and Ian Machado Garry takes on former champ Muhammad on Nov. 22 at UFC Qatar — that title shot nonetheless gave the impression to be up for grabs between whoever emerged from the fray with probably the most spectacular efficiency.
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Suffice to say, Morales set the bar excessive for Garry and Muhammad subsequent week.
