Michael Morales is convinced it’ll be “and still” at UFC 330.
Morales, who’s the official backup for the UFC welterweight title fight headlining UFC 330 on Aug. 15 in Philadelphia, is not giving Ian Machado Garry much of a chance, if any, to dethrone champion Islam Makhachev. Outside of the “puncher’s chance,” Morales doesn’t think the Irishman has much to offer Makhachev – who’s considered the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in MMA today.
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“Zero, zero, zero chance,” Morales told Hablemos MMA in Spanish. “You might not believe it, but the card at the White House, I predicted every fight. I don’t see Ian with many chances. It would have to be a brutal shot that stops Makhachev. I’m 100 percent going with Makhachev. So no, no, no: Ian, definitely not.”
Morales expects a dominant showing from Makhachev in his first title defense as champion at 170 pounds. He’s unsure if that dominance will lead to a finish, but he expects the bout to mainly play in Makhachev’s realm.
“We already know his plan. He’s done it all his life,” Morales said. “He’s going to strike and go for the takedown. He has great control on the ground. I think the fight spends the entire five rounds on the ground, or he’s going to finish. We all know how they fight.”
Should misfortune strike in the UFC 330 event, Morales could find himself fighting Makhachev for the undisputed belt or Machado Garry for an interim title. Although he dislikes Machado Garry, Morales wants to fight the very best. For him, the ideal scenario would be to step in against the current champion.
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“I want to fight directly with whoever the champion is,” Morales said. “Apart from establishing myself as a title contender (by being the backup), it would be something incredible for me. It would be a dream. If the opportunity to fight Islam comes up, I would be delighted. I’d be super scared; we all know how terrifying Islam is, but I’m game.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Michael Morales: Machado Garry has ‘zero chance’ vs. Makhachev
