This past Saturday in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 111, we saw a flyweight showcase. This year’s Ultimate Fighter winner Joseph Morales (14-2) was back in action as he took on veteran Matt Schnell (17-10) who returned earlier this year after a brief retirement.
Schnell was coming off a good win against Jimmy Flick and Morales was coming off winning The Ultimate Fighter. Morales looked incredibly motivated and he looked like someone who can make a serious run in the flyweight division.
Morales submitted Alibi Idris in the second round back in August in the finale, but he didn’t need to go beyond the first round on Saturday night. Morales was able to lock in a guillotine choke and he submitted Schnell just under three minutes into the first round of the UFC Vegas 111 co-main event.
What’s next after UFC Vegas 111?
In hindsight, it looks like the UFC made a mistake letting Morales go years ago. Morales got his first shot inside the octagon in 2017 and he earned a performance bonus by submitting Roberto Sanchez. He then lost two fights in a row which saw him get cut by the promotion.
One of those losses was a split decision loss and the other loss came against a prime Deiveson Figueiredo who was on his way to capturing the flyweight title. After getting cut, injuries kept Morales on the shelf for nearly three years. Upon his return to the sport, he won three straight fights which earned him a shot on TUF.
After winning his two fights during the season, he faced Idris in the finale at UFC 319 in Chicago. He was a big betting underdog, but he cashed and submitted Idris. With this performance on Saturday against Schnell, he’s really put the flyweight division on notice.
He has to face ranked competition next if you ask me. In looking at the division, there are a couple of matchups I wouldn’t mind seeing. Fights against guys like Charles Johnson and Bruno Silva could make a lot of sense. Both guys are coming off wins and they’re ranked just inside the UFC’s top fifteen.
Another option could be a veteran and former title challenger Tim Elliott. Elliott is coming off a big submission win over Kai Asakura which occurred the same night Morales won TUF in August. If the promotion wants to give Morales a shot at the top ten right away, a fight against Elliott could make a ton of sense.
More about: MMA
