“Danger” also landed his spot on the UFC roster through an appearance on The Ultimate Fighter, taking part in Season 24, where he lost to eventual tournament winner Tim Elliott. The Louisiana native stumbled out of the gates, dropping each of his first two appearances, but steadied himself with four straight victories and established himself as an all-action fixture in the 125-pound ranks.
“A lot of respect to Matt —I think this is his 16th UFC fight, so to be a company like that and have that many fights in the UFC is a huge accomplishment,” Morales said of his opponent this weekend, who sports a 7-7 record with one no contest in the UFC. “He’s a dangerous fighter — every one of his fights is exciting, whether he’s on the wrong end or the right end; it’s always bloody, it’s always a crazy ending.
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“I’m not taking him lightly at all,” he added. “I feel like he’s a very strong striker, but I also feel like that’s his weakness too, so we’ve got some stuff for him.”
Three months ago, Morales was waiting for the episodes of The Ultimate Fighter to run their course so he could confirm that he was in the finale and fighting for a chance to return to the roster.
Now, he has the opportunity to make an immediate splash to kick off his second go-round in the UFC, and he’s cherishing every second of it.
“This fight will put me and my family ahead of where we were with our bills, so it’ll definitely help me and my family in terms of the next step, the next level of fights,” Morales said when asked about earning a victory on Saturday night. “To start my second chance at this career off, my second run in the UFC by beating a veteran like him is gonna mean a lot for the next step.
“It’s definitely gonna be a great feeling. It’s gonna mean a lot.”