Michael Morales has already struck fear across the welterweight division thanks to his vicious knockout power. He showed it again at UFC 322, flatlining former top-ranked 170-pound contender Sean Brady. But part of the Ecuadorian’s boogeyman aura also came from his spotless record, which was unexpectedly questioned by popular MMA website Tapology.

Taking to X, the site claimed Morales suffered a 31-second loss to Ricardo Centeno at Ultima Pelea Season 2: Quarterfinals, arguing the bout took place under pro MMA rules and should count as a defeat. The move quickly sparked backlash, with fans pointing out that Ultima Pelea functioned as a reality show, similar to The Ultimate Fighter. As a result, many insisted the 26-year-old’s loss should be classified as an exhibition. But after facing heavy pushback, the website has now reversed course and restored Morales’ undefeated record and apologized. 

Back to perfect! Tapology reinstates Michael Morales’ unbeaten record

“Update on the ‘Ultima Pelea’ league in Ecuador and its impact on Michael Morales MMA record. We will reverse & classify these as exhibition. We look forward to many colorful replies on social media about how stupid we are. Thank you in advance. But above all we want to be fair and get this correct,” Tapology posted on X. 

“For the last several years we have been very restrictive about allowing fighters or leagues to claim exhibition status. It has become a loophole for keeping legitimate fights off of records. It allows fighters to compete in otherwise professional bouts without it counting. As a result, new events being sent to us, even if a reality show format, are generally not exempt from counting on Tapology win/loss record. This is the standard we applied to reviewing the ‘Ultimate Pelea’ events that we found footage of this week,” Tapology added.

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“What’s not fair and not consistent is that we are applying a roughly 2023-forward framework to a 2017 event. If this event had been reported to us in 2017, we would have certainly accepted it as exhibition at that time. This is the crux of how we agree we were incorrect when we classified these yesterday. We apologize for the sh*t storm and we appreciate all the interesting feedback we received. Yes, some of the feedback was fairly dumb. But some of it contained good and helpful arguments,” Tapology further added.

With that clarification, Michael Morales’ Tapology record returns to a staggering 19-0. MMA fans and experts were quick to point out that the website had made a mistake by counting the Ultima Pelea exhibition bouts as professional fights. As the debate picked up steam, the South American promotion itself also addressed the situation.

“The Organizers of the Reality show Última Pelea, where Michael Morales lost in 2017, clarify that The Bouts were Exhibition Fights The Organizers Also Claim They Had 0 Conversations with anyone and say it’s ‘Pure Bad Intentions’ and working on the issue.” Popular MMA account Kevin K posted on X.

Now, with the Pasaje powerhouse officially back to owning an unblemished pro record, the welterweight division is on alert once again. Still, not everyone is impressed, as one potential opponent took a shot at Morales over his New Year celebrations. 

Joaquin Buckley takes a sarcastic jab at Ecuadorian’s fashion game

On New Year’s Eve, Michael Morales spent time back home in Ecuador, celebrating with his loved ones. While enjoying the moment, the welterweight sensation wore a dress and danced his way into the festivities. Fans praised Morales for showing a different side of himself, one far removed from the stoic finisher inside the cage. But not everyone appreciated it. Especially Joaquin Buckley, who was far from impressed.

“Michael Morales. Go ahead and wear them dresses at the press conference. Go ahead and wear them dresses at the weigh-ins. You a street walker. We knew this for a while now. You might become a bigger star because of it,” ‘New Mansa’ said in a video shared on social media.

With those words, Buckley has clearly fired the opening shot at Morales. After losing to Kamaru Usman at UFC Atlanta last year, ‘Young Buck’ continues to search for a statement comeback fight. A clash with the 19-0 phenom would make plenty of sense on paper, especially with both men representing the new wave of talent at 170 pounds.

Still, securing that matchup may be easier said than done because Morales now sits dangerously close to a title shot, and the UFC may have bigger plans lined up for the Ecuadorian contender.

So with Morales back to owning an undefeated record, where does he go next? Does a future showdown with Islam Makhachev loom, or does the UFC steer him toward names like Jack Della Maddalena or another top contender? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.