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Michael Morales

Welterweight · REAL v1.0 (registered) #1; v1.1 (shadow) #1

Descriptive profile. The resume rank is what has been earned; these statistics are context, not a prediction. A test on Oct 20, 2026 found that career statistics add nothing reliable to age, layoff and experience as predictors of the next result (experiments/REGISTER.md, EXP-2026-10-20-14).

Weight band 1-1: the 10th to 90th percentile of his position across weight vectors drawn near the 70/30 weights (the position does not depend on the weights). Rating 1,708, deviation 146: measured from 7 UFC bouts; a one-bout newcomer sits near 290.

Age 27 (born 1999-06-24) · Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) · Reach 79 in (201 cm) · Stance Orthodox · 351 days since last bout (2025-11-15) · Last five 5-0 · Streak W7

Why he is ranked here

Rating 1,708 is the division's 7th highest of 76 board fighters; the ledger stands at +3.2 (+3.2 from quality wins; losses count for three years); 4 quality wins in 15 years, 2 over top-10 opponents; no form penalty (5-0 last five). Score +0.65 = +0.44 (rating term, 70% weight) +0.21 (ledger term, 30% weight) -0.00 (form penalty); score order put him at #4; the head-to-head rule (the winner of the most recent meeting within three years moves directly above the loser when ranked at most three places behind, six within a year) placed him #1.

TermValueDetail
Score+0.6570% rating term + 30% ledger term - form penalty
Rating term+0.44resume rating 1,708, scaled against the division's interdecile range
Ledger term+0.21quality ledger +3.2: +3.2 QW +0.0 proof -0.0 blowout -0.0 weak
Form penalty0.00last five 5-0
Quality wins, 15 years42 over top-10 opponents, 3 over top-15
Placementscore order #4; head-to-head -> #1v1.0 (registered)
Shadow board v1.1#1score +0.65; score order #5; placement rules -> #1

Rules, weights and worked examples: methodology.

All 7 UFC bouts

DateEventOpponentOpp. official rankResultMethodRoundModel p
2025-11-15UFC 322: Della Maddalena vs. MakhachevSean Brady#2WKO/TKO1 (3:27)53%
2025-05-17UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. MoralesGilbert Burns#8WKO/TKO1 (3:39)65%
2024-08-24UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. BorralhoNeil Magny#12WKO/TKO1 (4:39)61%
2023-11-18UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. CraigJake MatthewsunrankedWunanimous decision3 (5:00)59%
2023-07-01UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. MagomedovMax GriffinunrankedWunanimous decision3 (5:00)40%
2022-07-30UFC 277: Pena vs. Nunes 2Adam FugittunrankedWKO/TKO3 (1:09)64%
2022-01-22UFC 270: Ngannou vs. GaneTrevin GilesunrankedWKO/TKO1 (4:06)39%

Opp. official rank = the UFC media-panel rank of the opponent on the date (C champion, #1 to #15, unranked; n/a before Feb 2013 or where no official board existed). Model p = the predictive model's pre-fight win chance for him (frozen performance-adjusted Elo; bouts before 2020 were in its tuning sample). Linked opponents have a profile.

Career statistics

Through 2026-10-31, UFC bouts only. Percentile = share of the 76 board fighters at Welterweight at or below this value; high is a position in the division, not a verdict.

Output
Significant strikes landed per minute6.25(87th percentile at Welterweight)
Significant strike accuracy50%(58th percentile at Welterweight)
Knockdowns scored per 15 minutes1.84(91st percentile at Welterweight)
Share of wins by finish71%(62nd percentile at Welterweight)
Defence and damage
Significant strikes absorbed per minute3.21(39th percentile at Welterweight)
Significant strike defence57%(74th percentile at Welterweight)
Knockdowns suffered per 15 minutes0.00(42nd percentile at Welterweight)
Significant strikes absorbed, career183(47th percentile at Welterweight)
KO/TKO losses0(37th percentile at Welterweight)
Submission losses0(66th percentile at Welterweight)
KO/TKO losses per bout over 10 years, each weighted down by the finisher's danger0.000(39th percentile at Welterweight)
Grappling
Takedowns landed per 15 minutes0.26(30th percentile at Welterweight)
Takedown defence88%(77th percentile at Welterweight)
Share of cage time in control6%(25th percentile at Welterweight)
Share of significant strikes landed in the clinch or on the ground23%(49th percentile at Welterweight)
Stylestriker (1.1 takedown attempts per 15 min; 6% control)
Career stage
Age27.4(8th percentile at Welterweight)
Age at UFC debut22.6(4th percentile at Welterweight)
Years since UFC debut4.8(61st percentile at Welterweight)
UFC bouts7(57th percentile at Welterweight)
Cage time, minutes57(47th percentile at Welterweight)
Bouts per year, last three years1.3(43rd percentile at Welterweight)
Days since last bout351(86th percentile at Welterweight)

Board position since Oct 2023

C510152020252026Oct 2023Oct 20262023-10-06: #19, Welterweight2023-10-13: #18, Welterweight2023-10-20: #19, Welterweight2023-11-03: #19, Welterweight2023-11-10: #19, Welterweight2023-11-17: #18, Welterweight2023-12-01: #15, Welterweight2023-12-08: #14, Welterweight2023-12-15: #14, Welterweight2024-01-12: #15, Welterweight2024-01-19: #15, Welterweight2024-02-02: #16, Welterweight2024-02-09: #16, Welterweight2024-02-16: #16, Welterweight2024-02-23: #16, Welterweight2024-03-01: #16, Welterweight2024-03-08: #15, Welterweight2024-03-15: #15, Welterweight2024-03-22: #15, Welterweight2024-03-29: #15, Welterweight2024-04-05: #16, Welterweight2024-04-12: #16, Welterweight2024-04-26: #16, Welterweight2024-05-03: #16, Welterweight2024-05-10: #16, Welterweight2024-05-17: #16, Welterweight2024-05-31: #17, Welterweight2024-06-07: #18, Welterweight2024-06-14: #18, Welterweight2024-06-21: #18, Welterweight2024-06-28: #19, Welterweight2024-07-12: #19, Welterweight2024-07-19: #19, Welterweight2024-07-26: #19, Welterweight2024-08-02: #18, Welterweight2024-08-09: #18, Welterweight2024-08-16: #18, Welterweight2024-08-23: #19, Welterweight2024-09-06: #9, Welterweight2024-09-13: #9, Welterweight2024-09-27: #9, Welterweight2024-10-04: #9, Welterweight2024-10-11: #10, Welterweight2024-10-18: #10, Welterweight2024-10-25: #10, Welterweight2024-11-01: #9, Welterweight2024-11-08: #9, Welterweight2024-11-15: #10, Welterweight2024-11-22: #10, Welterweight2024-12-06: #10, Welterweight2024-12-13: #10, Welterweight2025-01-10: #10, Welterweight2025-01-17: #10, Welterweight2025-01-31: #10, Welterweight2025-02-07: #10, Welterweight2025-02-14: #10, Welterweight2025-02-21: #10, Welterweight2025-02-28: #10, Welterweight2025-03-07: #10, Welterweight2025-03-14: #10, Welterweight2025-03-21: #10, Welterweight2025-03-28: #10, Welterweight2025-04-04: #10, Welterweight2025-04-11: #10, Welterweight2025-04-25: #9, Welterweight2025-05-02: #8, Welterweight2025-05-09: #8, Welterweight2025-05-16: #8, Welterweight2025-05-30: #7, Welterweight2025-06-06: #7, Welterweight2025-06-13: #7, Welterweight2025-06-20: #7, Welterweight2025-06-27: #7, Welterweight2025-07-11: #7, Welterweight2025-07-18: #7, Welterweight2025-07-25: #7, Welterweight2025-08-01: #7, Welterweight2025-08-08: #7, Welterweight2025-08-15: #7, Welterweight2025-08-22: #7, Welterweight2025-09-05: #8, Welterweight2025-09-12: #8, Welterweight2025-09-26: #8, Welterweight2025-10-03: #8, Welterweight2025-10-10: #8, Welterweight2025-10-17: #8, Welterweight2025-10-24: #8, Welterweight2025-10-31: #8, Welterweight2025-11-07: #8, Welterweight2025-11-14: #8, Welterweight2025-11-21: #6, Welterweight2025-12-05: #6, Welterweight2025-12-12: #6, Welterweight2026-01-23: #6, Welterweight2026-01-30: #6, Welterweight2026-02-06: #6, Welterweight2026-02-20: #6, Welterweight2026-02-27: #6, Welterweight2026-03-06: #6, Welterweight2026-03-13: #6, Welterweight2026-03-20: #6, Welterweight2026-03-27: #6, Welterweight2026-04-03: #6, Welterweight2026-04-10: #6, Welterweight2026-04-17: #6, Welterweight2026-04-24: #6, Welterweight2026-05-01: #6, Welterweight2026-05-08: #6, Welterweight2026-05-15: #4, Welterweight2026-05-29: #4, Welterweight2026-06-05: #4, Welterweight2026-06-13: #3, Welterweight2026-06-19: #3, Welterweight2026-06-26: #3, Welterweight2026-07-10: #3, Welterweight2026-07-17: #3, Welterweight2026-07-24: #2, Welterweight2026-07-31: #2, Welterweight2026-08-07: #2, Welterweight2026-08-14: #2, Welterweight2026-08-21: #1, Welterweight2026-08-28: #1, Welterweight2026-09-04: #1, Welterweight2026-09-11: #1, Welterweight2026-09-18: #1, Welterweight2026-09-25: #1, Welterweight2026-09-26: #1, Welterweight2026-10-03: #1, Welterweight2026-10-10: #1, Welterweight2026-10-17: #1, Welterweight2026-10-24: #1, Welterweight2026-10-31: #1, Welterweight#1

Position on the registered v1.0 board at each weekly snapshot (C = title holder or reserved, drawn at the top; lower is better).

Predictive rating by bout

1,6001,7001,8001,9002,0002023202420252026Jan 2022Oct 20262022-01-22: 1,603 (W vs Trevin Giles)2022-07-30: 1,630 (W vs Adam Fugitt)2023-07-01: 1,707 (W vs Max Griffin)2023-11-18: 1,737 (W vs Jake Matthews)2024-08-24: 1,808 (W vs Neil Magny)2025-05-17: 1,853 (W vs Gilbert Burns)2025-11-15: 1,909 (W vs Sean Brady)1,909

Rating after each UFC bout from the frozen predictive model (performance-adjusted Elo, data/processed/elo_history.csv; a debut starts at 1,500). The resume rating's history is not stored, so this is the predictive line, which is a different number from the resume rating in the header.

Trajectory

Recent performances run about 73 points ahead of the rating: fighters this age typically run 37 points ahead of their rating, and his own recent results put him a further 36 points ahead.

ComponentPointsMeaning
Age component+37what fighters aged 27.4 typically run relative to their rating (population curve, all UFC bouts since 2011)
Own recent results+36his recency-weighted mean and trend over 7 bouts, shrunk toward zero; trend +1 points a year
Combined+73the rating's likely distance from his current performance level, in rating points
Readingahead of ratingahead of, in line with (within 30 points), or behind the rating

Performance relative to the rating, by age

-1.0-0.5+0.0+0.5+1.0222324252627282022-01-22 (age 22.6): W vs Trevin Giles, residual +0.502022-07-30 (age 23.1): W vs Adam Fugitt, residual +0.422023-07-01 (age 24.0): W vs Max Griffin, residual +0.282023-11-18 (age 24.4): W vs Jake Matthews, residual +0.232024-08-24 (age 25.2): W vs Neil Magny, residual +0.572025-05-17 (age 25.9): W vs Gilbert Burns, residual +0.522025-11-15 (age 26.4): W vs Sean Brady, residual +0.59+0.11

Each dot is one decided UFC bout at his age then: the performance score minus the rating's expectation, on the score's own scale from -1 to +1 (filled = win, hollow = loss; above zero is better than the rating implied; a finish as a slight favourite is about +0.45). The dashed line is the population curve for all fighters; the solid line is this fighter's own fitted level and trend as of the data date, weighted toward recent bouts. One unit sustained over many bouts corresponds to about 695 rating points; a single bout's residual is noisy.

Held-out evidence (walk-forward 2016 to 2026, EXP-2026-10-21-01): the age curve held in every test year; the individual component is a weak signal (correlation 0.06 with the next bout's residual; among fighters aged 33 or over, the lowest predicted quartile won 38% of next bouts against 53% expected, the highest 48% against 52%) and adds nothing to bout prediction beyond the shadow model. No board uses any of it: the rankings answer who has earned the place, not who wins next (EXP-2026-10-20-09). Method: src/mmalab/decline.py; settings: config/decline.yaml (expectation from the resume rating; one unit of residual is about 695 rating points).

Context flags

Descriptive only. Each line is a population fact about fighters like him, not a forecast for him; the register entries hold the measurements.

REAL v1.0 (registered method) · build c166ee8 · data through 2026-10-31 · page built 2026-11-06 · changelog. Independent fan research project built on public UFCStats data. Not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by UFC, Zuffa, LLC, TKO Group Holdings, or any athlete. All trademarks belong to their owners and are used only to identify athletes and events.