UFC welterweight Michael Morales may not be the universally accepted number one contender, but a lot of people believe he has what it takes to give Islam Makhachev some problems – including Michael Chiesa.
While all of the talk at 170 pounds right now is about the greatness of Islam Makhachev, there are a lot of great fighters in the division who deserve to receive some praise too. That certainly includes rising star Michael Morales, who has looked absolutely exceptional pretty much every time he’s climbed into the cage thus far in the UFC.
Michael Morales has a dynamic and lethal striking style that would be a problem for just about anyone to contend with, and when you take a look at his size, it’s clear to see that he is absolutely huge for the weight class right now.
In a recent podcast, Michael Chiesa weighed in on what the future could hold for Michael Morales.
Michael Chiesa praises Michael Morales
“Morales is the biggest guy at 170 pounds,” Chiesa said. “He is the biggest welterweight, so the size and the wrestling, I think that could give him more problems than Prates. But I do think prates has more capability of landing a knockout shot. At times Michael can get a little bit wild. The more wild you are with your striking, the better lanes are created for a wrestler to shoot.
“Prates, I feel like wouldn’t get over extended too much, would do a better job throwing kill shots and not getting himself extended. Morales at times can be a little bit wild. But his wrestling chops, size, and physicality – I think that could pose a big problem for Islam.” Quotes via MMA Junkie
It goes without saying that it would take a generational performance from Morales in order to defeat Islam Makhachev. He may not even be the one to get the shot with Islam seemingly preferring the idea of a Carlos Prates matchup, but whatever the case may be, there are a lot of welterweights out there will firmly believe that Makhachev can be beaten if they fight to their full potential.
