Brett Okamoto
A welterweight torch was passed in a big way on Saturday, when undefeated contender Michael Morales knocked out Gilbert Burns in the first round in Las Vegas.
Morales (18-0) stopped Burns (22-9) with strikes at 3 minutes, 39 seconds of the opening round in their welterweight main event at UFC Fight Night inside the Apex. Morales hurt Burns multiple times with the uppercut and eventually finished him with strikes along the fence.
Morales, 25, moved to 6-0 in the UFC with four knockouts.
“Every fight is tough, but I was very nervous back there in the locker room,” Morales said through an interpreter. “They told me, ‘Trust yourself, trust what you can do, trust your potential.’ We put in the work and made it happen. My mother and grandmother told me to put the heavy hands on him and the rest will be easy.”
It’s a massive win for Morales, who went into Saturday’s fight as the UFC’s No. 12-ranked welterweight. Burns was ranked No. 8, but his status in the division remains high. Morales, who was born in Ecuador and now fights out of Mexico, had never taken on an opponent of Burns’ caliber. Saturday was also his first appearance in a UFC main event.
Nevertheless, Morales showed no signs of any additional nerves from the opening bell. He tagged Burns with an overhand right early and hurt him moments later with the uppercut. Burns desperately went for a takedown and even secured one to slow things down, but Morales calmly worked right back up and eventually delivered the final sequence along the fence.
Burns, 38, has lost four in a row, but the competition has been nothing short of elite. His past three losses coming in were against former champion Belal Muhammad, current champion Jack Della Maddalena and current No. 1-ranked contender Sean Brady. Morales was looking to prove himself in the same category as those and did so emphatically.
Morales dedicated the win to his mother, who was in attendance on Saturday. His past two wins have been first-round knockouts. He knocked out veteran Neil Magny in a “Performance of the Night” appearance in August.
