Michael Morales Faces Brutal 50-Pound Weight Cut Ahead of UFC 336 Title Fight
UFC welterweight contender Michael Morales is grabbing headlines after posting his jacked-up pictures and revealing that he weighs 220 lbs right now.
On Friday, the monstrous welterweight posted an Instagram carousel showcasing his muscular build and a weighing scale reading of 220 lbs. This shocked the MMA community because in 3 months, this man has to fight the #1 contender, Carlos Prates, for the interim UFC welterweight championship at UFC 336. But 1 day before this fight, Morales has to weigh in at no more than 170 lbs.
The 27-year-old was already considered one of the biggest welterweights to ever exist. Only the legendary Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson’s name comes to mind when one tries to think about a bigger welterweight.
Michael Morales currently weighs 220 lbs 🤯
He has 3 months to get down to 170 lbs for his fight against Carlos Prates
(via @michaellmma) https://t.co/9B5sz2HfDw
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) October 31, 2026
There’s no reliable record showing how much weight Morales has cut in his previous fights, but he must be feeling confident because he accepted the title fight against one of the scariest knockout artists in the division in Prates. And also, the prize is the interim welterweight title and a fight against the undisputed champion, Islam Makhachev, later in 2027.
UFC 336 Co-Headlined By Carlos Prates vs. Michael Morales
During the broadcast of UFC 333, the promotion dropped the headliners for UFC’s first numbered event of next year, UFC 336. The card takes place at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 30th.
The main event features the UFC flyweight champ Joshua Van making his 2nd title defense against former RIZIN bantamweight champion Manel Kape. The co-main event will pit these young welterweight finishers against each other to decide who challenges the pound-for-pound king next.
Originally, UFC planned to book a fight between Islam Makhachev and Carlos Prates for the undisputed belt. But the champ instead decided to wait and fight the best and most deserving challenger after the holy month of Ramadan is over. But thanks to these circumstances, the Ecuadorian striker got fast-tracked to the title shot.
Betting Odds Favour Carlos Prates Over Michael Morales
Michael Morales will bring his 19-0 undefeated record to this upcoming fight. The #3-ranked welterweight owns 14 knockouts, that includes elite contenders like Sean Brady, Gilbert Burns and Neil Magny. He’s such a savage that he’s finished all of them inside one round.
But in front of him stands another savage- Carlos Prates. The #1-ranked welterweight brings an even more impressive resume to the table with a record of 24-7, which includes 19 knockouts.
He’s knocked out his last 3 opponents, and all of them were welterweight contenders. But even more striking is that his last two victims are former UFC welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena and Leon Edwards.
Prates is an inch taller than Morales, but in terms of size, the duo is clearly distinctive. While Morales will be going down from 220 lbs to 170 lbs, the Brazilian has previously mentioned that he gets up to 198 lbs before cutting down to the welterweight weight limit. Betting lines for this exciting fight has already opened and despite the fact of the size, odds modestly favour Carlos over Michael.
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