Michael Jonathan Morales Hurtado (born June 24, 1999) is an Ecuadorian professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. He currently competes in the

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC). As of May 20, 2025, he is #8 in the UFC welterweight rankings.

Background

Michael Morales was born in 1999 in

Pasaje Pasaje is a town in the lowlands of the El Oro Province, Ecuador. Pasaje is the seat of the Pasaje Canton. It is located on the border of the Jubones River. Climate References {{Reflist External links mipasaje.comWebsite with local inform ...

, El Oro, Ecuador. He is the son of judokas, a discipline he has been practicing since he was five years old, with his mother was his first coach. His mother, international judo referee Katty Hurtado, is a third dan judo black belt who retired from competition when she was 42. At the age of 10, he switched from

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

, where he won several youth tournaments. At the age of 14, his father took him to Víctor Vallejo's academy in Machala, where he began to practice

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

. After doing MMA as an amateur, he made his professional MMA debut at age 16.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

While fully focusing on MMA, he juggled a job at a naval boat factory. In 2021, he began his journey through Mexico, arriving in

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

to train at Entram Gym. On March 29, 2021, he signed a contract with Ultimate Warrior Challenge Mexico (UWC).

Dana White's Contender Series

On September 21, 2021, Morales faced Nikolay Veretennikov for a UFC contract on Dana White's Contender Series: Season 5, Week 4. Morales earned the contract by defeating Veretennikov via unanimous decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Morales made his UFC debut against

Trevin Giles Trevin Dewayne Giles (born August 6, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist. Giles currently competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Giles was born in San Antonio, Texas, and was a footbal ...

on January 22, 2022, at

UFC 270 ''UFC 270: Ngannou vs. Gane'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 22, 2022, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Background A UFC Heavyweight Championship title unificat ...

. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Morales was scheduled to face

Ramiz Brahimaj Ramiz Brahimaj (born November 17, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Brahimaj started training seriously for MMA when he was 17 while he was a ju ...

UFC 277 ''UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 30, 2022, at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Women's Bantamweight Cha ...

on July 30, 2022. However, Brahimaj was forced to withdraw from the event in mid-July due to an undisclosed injury and was replaced by Adam Fugitt. Morales won the fight via TKO in the third round. Morales was scheduled to face Rinat Fakhretdinov on December 17, 2022, at UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Strickland. However, Morales withdrew due to a toe fracture. Morales faced

Max Griffin Max Griffin (born November 29, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist. Griffin currently competes in the Welterweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2009, Griffin has also competed for ...

on July 1, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 48. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Morales faced Jake Matthews on November 18, 2023, at

UFC Fight Night 232 ''UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Craig'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 232, UFC on ESPN+ 90'' and ''UFC Vegas 82'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 18, 2023, at the UFC Apex ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Morales faced

Neil Magny Aoutneil Jacques "Neil" Magny (born August 3, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2010, Magny made a name ...

on August 24, 2024 at UFC on ESPN 62. He won the fight by technical knockout in the first round. This fight earned him a '' Performance of the Night'' award. Morales was scheduled to face former UFC Welterweight title challenger

Gilbert Burns Gilbert Alexander Pontes Burns (born 20 July 1986) is a Brazilian professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and Submission grappling, submission grappler. He currently competes in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight division of th ...

on April 12, 2025, at

UFC 314 ''UFC 314: Volkanovski vs. Lopes'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 12, 2025, at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, United States. Background The event marked the promotion' ...

. However, the bout was moved to May 10, 2025 at

UFC 315 ''UFC 315: Muhammad vs. Della Maddalena'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 10, 2025, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Background The event marked the promotion's ...

for unknown reasons. In turn, the bout against Burns was moved to serve as the main event on May 17, 2025 at UFC Fight Night 256. Morales won the fight by technical knockout in the first round. This fight earned him another '' Performance of the Night'' award.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Performance of the Night (Two times) **UFC.com Awards *** 2022: Ranked #8 Newcomer of the Year * Oro Fighting Championship **OFC Welterweight Champion (One time) *Extreme MMA ** EMMA Welterweight Champion (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

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Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...

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Guayaquil Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...

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Machala Machala () is a city in south-west Ecuador. It is the capital of the El Oro Province, and is located near the Gulf of Guayaquil on fertility (soil), fertile lowlands. Machala has a population of 288,072 (2022 census); it is the sixth-biggest city ...

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Cuenca Cuenca may refer to: People * Cuenca (surname) Places Ecuador * Cuenca Canton, in the Azuay Province ** Cuenca, Ecuador, capital of Cuenca Canton and Azuay Province ** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cuenca Peru * Cuenca District, Huarochirí ...

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Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

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Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina *Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca *Santa Rosa, La Pampa * S ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morales, Michael Ecuadorian male mixed martial artists 1999 births Living people Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Ecuadorian male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers