Undefeated 170-pound challenger Michael Morales has moved up 4 spots to No. 8 within the newest UFC welterweight rankings.
This comes after the Ecuadorian fighter knocked out former UFC welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns in a devastating spherical one at UFC Apex final weekend.
Michael Morales strikes to eighth place in newest UFC welterweight rankings
Michael Morales moved up 4 spots within the newest UFC welterweight rankings after scoring a devastating first-round KO victory over Gilbert Burns ultimately weekend’s UFC Struggle Evening: Burns vs. Morales.
Burns is, in fact, a former UFC welterweight title contender, and with this win he has actually caught the eye of the remainder of the 170-pound division.
Morales was ranked twelfth within the welterweight division going into the hardest battle of his profession towards the Brazilian. He has solely had 5 fights within the UFC, however gained all of them.
He had an excellent efficiency in his final battle and has now gained six of six fights within the UFC. The truth is, the 25-year-old dealt with Burns higher than anybody lately and confirmed he is greater than succesful at world stage.
Morales moved up 4 locations and is formally ranked eighth within the newest rankings. Not solely did he leapfrog Barnes, however he additionally surpassed Jeff Neal, Stephen Thompson, and Colby Covington.
Morales has his sights firmly set on breaking into the highest 5 within the welterweight division. It’ll take just a few extra wins for the Ecuadorian to be talked about as a real title contender, however that would occur throughout the subsequent 12 months.
If Michael Morales continues on his present trajectory, we may very well be speaking a couple of future UFC champion and MMA phenom in just a few years. There is not any doubt about that.
Who will Michael Morales battle subsequent?
Now that Michael Morales has risen additional up the UFC welterweight rankings, followers are already speaking about who they need to see him battle subsequent.
The 18-0 undefeated welterweight contender has gained every of his six UFC bouts since his sturdy displaying on Dana White’s Contender Sequence. Of these six wins, 4 had been by overwhelming knockout.
Now, Morales has his sights firmly set on ending within the prime 5 within the 170-pound weight class. A few of the names ranked above him embrace Ian Garry, Joaquin Buckley, Kamaru Usman, Leon Edwards, Shavkat Rakhmonov, Sean Brady, Belal Muhammad and, in fact, champion Jacques de la Maddalena.
Of those names, the subsequent most evident matches for the 25-year-old could be Edwards, Usman, Buckley, and maybe Gary.
Buckley and Usman will conflict in just a few weeks, so Morales will certainly regulate that battle and doubtlessly battle the loser. Ian Garry simply had an excellent win final time, so this battle additionally makes excellent sense.
A match towards former champion Leon Edwards could be unbelievable for the Ecuadorian fighter. If he can win that battle and defeat “Rocky,” he may very well be within the title image in 2026.
Nevertheless, Morales might want to bide his time and rack up just a few extra wins earlier than contemplating a shot on the UFC welterweight title.
Islam Makhachev’s subsequent battle will probably be a problem for Jacques Della Maddalena’s title, confirming that he’ll step up from 155 kilos to battle the brand new welterweight champion.
Solely time will inform what Morales will do subsequent and who he’ll face subsequent. Definitely he has loads of choices!
