After dominant win at UFC Vegas 106, what’s next for Michael Morales?

This past weekend, the UFC returned to The APEX in Las Vegas with a big time welterweight showcase in the main event. Top prospect Michael Morales (18-0) was set to have his toughest test to date as he took on former title challenger, Gilbert Burns (22-9).

Both men needed this win in different ways. For Gilbert Burns, he was on the doorstep of another title shot just a couple of years ago when he fought Belal Muhammad. However, it’s been a steep fall from there with him having lost three in a row leading into Saturday night.

For Michael Morales, he needed this win to solidify himself as a top ten contender and shed the prospect label moving forward. Morales was 5-0 inside the octagon, but he needed a big win to really announce his arrival into the top ten. Well, that’s exactly what he did on Saturday night. It was one-way traffic as Morales ran through Durinho and stopped him in the first round earning the biggest win of his young UFC career.

What’s next after UFC Vegas 106?

With this stoppage win, I’m expecting Morales to just take Burns’ spot in the top ten. When the rankings drop tomorrow, I expect to see Morales ranked eighth. Now, after the fight, Morales said that he wanted a fight with Ian Machado Garry next and while that makes sense from a rankings perspective, I think that Machado Garry will get a fight higher in the rankings. Perhaps against someone like Sean Brady in a title eliminator.

Joaquin Buckley is the UFC’s seventh ranked welterweight and he’s scheduled to face former champ Kamaru Usman in just a few weeks in Atlanta. I don’t see the winner being the next guy for Morales either given their trajectory. Shavkat Rakhmonov also isn’t going to be an option so that’s all the contenders in front of Morales except for one.

That one is former champion Leon Edwards and that’s the fight that I think will happen next. Edwards is ranked fourth coming off his loss to Sean Brady. At this time last year, Edwards was the king at 170, but he’s suffered two straight lopsided losses. He needs a fight and Morales needs a challenge. I think the UFC makes this one next with Edwards having a ton on the line to maintain his spot and Morales needing that win to vault into title contention.