After a spectacular first-round knockout at UFC 322, welterweight Michael Morales finds himself knocking on the door of a title fight. The 26-year-old fighter from Ecuador claims that he is willing to clear any last barriers before pursuing hold, even if that calls for defeating Carlos Prates.
Michael Morales’s powerful conclusion at UFC 322 has placed him in the Top 5 of the division and has made him a worthy contender to challenge the current champion, Islam Makhachev.
The fighter did not hide the possibility of an interim fight during a recent appearance on the Death Row MMA podcast. “They already told me I was a candidate to fight for the belt,” he remarked, adding, “but next year.” Morales made it plain, should it be required, that he has no trouble squaring off against Prates to win the shot.
Could Morales vs. Prates be the next breakout fight?
Among the hopefuls now looking for a position is Carlos Prates, a dynamic Brazilian striker swiftly rising in the welterweight rankings. Renowned for his strong hands and stoppage-driven technique, Prates recently bounced back with a knockout triumph following a decision setback to another leading contender.
For his part, Morales views Prates as a plausible barrier, but nothing risky enough to bring his plans off track. He praised Prates’s tenacity but underlined that he was ready for anybody in his path. A fight between the two would probably serve as a high-stakes eliminator, an actual trial before a title shot.
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Considering the stacked welterweight top 5 (which also features fighters like Shavkat Rakhmonov, Ian Machado Garry, and Kamaru Usman), this bout will clarify who genuinely merits a shot at Makhachev’s championship belt. Morales seems content to let the matchmaking algorithm run its course rather than striving for a quick title shot. He reaffirmed at the post-UFC-322 press conference that he is not in a hurry.