UFC Fight Night Predictions: Morales’ time arrives against Magny

Neil Magny takes on Michael Morales this Saturday, August 24 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The bout will feature on the card for UFC on ESPN 62: Cannonier vs Borralho. The fight is scheduled for the welterweight limit and will be broadcast on TNT Sports 1. 

Here are my Magny vs Morales predictions ahead of this tasty tussle.

How do you beat the unbeatable. Decades of MMA have taught us that, for the most part, no fighter is truly impossible to defeat. But 16 individuals have attempted to tarnish Morales’ record and they have uniformly failed.

The Ecuadorian’s chief weapon is his striking. But a background in judo and wrestling means Morales can stuff a takedown with the best and is able to manoeuvre his opponents in order to lower the boom. 11 of his fights have ended by knockout, with four decisions wins and a sole submission.

After introducing himself to the Octagon with TKOs over Trevin Giles and Adam Fugitt, Morales has been the distance twice since. Max Griffin and Jake Matthews extended the 25-year-old, but could not find a way to defeat him. Rangy for a welterweight at six-foot-tall and with a 79-inch reach, the Mexico-trained puncher has picked off every foe so far.

Now Morales faces a ranked competitor in his bid to gatecrash the UFC welterweight ratings. Magny has mixed it up with some of the very best UFC 185-pounders, past and present. 

‘The Haitian Sensation’ has beaten Robbie Lawler, Carlos Condit, Johnny Hendricks, Kelvin Gastelum, Hector Lombard and Erick Silva. He has also lost to Ian Machado Garry, Gilbert Burns, Shavkat Rakhmonov, Rafael dos Anjos, Michael Chiesa and Demian Maia. Magny might not win every fight, but his level of competition is peerless.

The veteran has the joint-most wins in UFC welterweight history with 22 as well as the most decision wins in company history. Magny has fought more than any other welterweight with 32 bouts. The phrase “battle-hardened” certainly comes to mind when you mention the 37-year-old.

This will be a hard battle. Magny is far from on-the-slide, but his recent losses have tended to come when he has stepped up in class. Burns and Garry make up the two losses he has suffered in his last three fights. While Magny can still outfox the likes of Philip Rowe and Mike Malott, wins against bigger names have been hard to come by.

Morales looks set to become a big name. A crowd-pleasing style and an unbeaten record is an age-old recipe for MMA success. This cat could go all the way. But Magny is a survivor. Those dozens of decisions tell their own story. This one looks set to go long, particularly as the stoppages have dried up for Morales of late. 

But the younger man does look well-set to prevail here. Magny is the first stern test of what could be a special UFC journey. Tune in and watch the potential star of tomorrow, today.

Magny vs Morales Fight Odds

Magny is battling from underneath at 11/2 while Morales is a 1/10 shot to do what’s expected of him and win.

UFC on ESPN 62 Full Card

Main Card

Jared Cannonier vs. Caio Borralho

Angela Hill vs. Tabatha Ricci

Ryan Loder vs. Robert Valentin Frey

Kaan Ofli vs. Mairon Santos

Neil Magny vs. Michael Morales

Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Gerald Meerschaert

Prelims

Dennis Buzukja vs. Francis Marshall

Zachary Reese vs. José Daniel Medina

Viacheslav Borshchev vs. James Llontop

Jacqueline Cavalcanti vs. Josiane Nune

Zygimantas Ramaska vs. Nathan Fletcher

Wang Cong vs. Victoria Leonardo

Magny vs Morales Prediction

I think this is Morales’ time. Magny can become the first standout name on his record as he prepares for his rise up the rankings. I am picking Morales to do the job at 1/10.

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