Undefeated 170-pound contender Michael Morales jumped four spots to #8 in the updated UFC welterweight rankings.
This comes after Ecuador’s devastating round one knockout of former UFC Welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns at UFC Apex last weekend.
Michael Morales jumps to #8 in the latest UFC welterweight rankings
Following a devastating round-1 knockout victory over Gilbert Burns at UFC Fight Night last weekend, Michael Morales jumped to fourth in the latest UFC welterweight rankings.
Burns, of course, is a former UFC welterweight title contender, and the victory has firmly informed the rest of the 170 pound division.
Entering the toughest battle of his career against the Brazilian, Morales ranked 12th in welterweight. He only had five fights in the UFC, so he won all of them.
Now he has won six of the six at the UFC after another impressive display last time. In fact, the 25-year-old has shown more than he belongs to the world class, dealing with Burns more than anyone these days.
Currently, Morales has jumped over four spots and is officially ranked 8th in the updated rankings. He not only climbed over Jeff Neil, Stephen Thompson and Colby Covington, but he bouncing off the burns.
Now, Morales will firmly set his eyesight in the top five in the welterweight division. He needs several more wins before people talk about the Ecuadorians as real title contenders, but that could happen within the next 12 months.
If Michael Morales continues his current trajectory, he may be talking about future UFC champions and MMA phenoms over the next few years. There is no doubt in the meantime.
Who will you oppose Michael Morales’ next fight?
As he shot more of the UFC welterweight rankings, fans have already spoken about anyone who wants to see Michael Morales fight next.
The 18-0 undefeated welterweight contender has won each of his six UFC fights since being impressed by Dana White’s candidate series. Of these six victories, four of them came by highlighted knockouts.
Now, Morales is firmly aiming for the top five in the 170 pound division. Some of the names still ranked above him include Ian Garry, Joaquin Buckley, Kamal Usman, Leon Edwards, Shavkat Rakmonov, Sean Brady, Beral Muhammad and of course champion Jack Della Madarena.
Of these names, the fights that have the next most obvious meaning to the 25-year-old are Edwards, Usman, Buckley, and perhaps even Garry.
Buckley and Usman clash in a few weeks, so Morales certainly could have one eye on the fight and fight the loser. Ian Garry is refreshing from his last impressive victory, so that fight also makes perfect sense.
The match against former champion Leon Edwards is incredible for the Ecuadorians. If he could even get that fight and beat “Rocky,” he would soon be in the title photo for the 2026 shot.
But Morales needs to spend time and put together a few more wins before he even considers a UFC welterweight title shot.
In the next battle of Islam Makhachev, he challenged Jack Della Madrena for the title and confirmed that he would rise from 155 pounds to fight the new welterweight king.
Time tells Morales’ next move and who he will face next. He certainly has plenty of options!
