This is a classic “veteran versus prospect” pairing in the welterweight division, as Max Griffin shares the Octagon with Michael Morales.
Despite being 37 years old and well over a decade deep into his career, Griffin has never looked better. He enters this weekend’s main card assignment off a victory over Tim Means, and has won four of his last five, with the only setback coming by split decision in an impossibly close fight with Neil Magny in March 2022.
READ: Max Griffin Wants to Teach Morales A Lesson
A member of the DWCS Class of ’21, Morales posted stoppage wins over Trevin Giles and Adam Fugitt to begin his UFC tenure, extending his record to 14-0 in the process. Tall, rangy, and with good power for the division, the 23-year-old from Ecuador, who trains at the Entram Gym in Tijuana, is one of the better prospects on the roster, and projects to be a future factor in the 170-pound weight class.
This pairing is designed to determine how close we are to that future, as Morales has passed his first two tests with flying colors, and now steps in against a dangerous, savvy veteran in the midst of a very good run of results. Griffin has no interest in being a steppingstone, so it’ll be interesting to see how things play out once they get in there and get after it this weekend.
