Written by Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Michael Morales just sent notice to the entire welterweight division after laying waste to Gilbert Burns with a vicious first-round finish in the UFC Vegas 106 main event.
The 25-year-old prospect graduated from prospect to contender with his latest performance as he overwhelmed Burns from the first exchange to the very last. The finish came after Morales blasted Burns with a devastating right hand that rocked the veteran Brazilian and put him down on the canvas.
Burns managed to grab onto a leg in a last ditch effort for survival but it was short-lived success as Morales slipped free and just continued hammering away at him. Once Burns dropped to the canvas for the second time, referee Herb Dean saw enough to stop the contest with the end coming at just 3:39 in the opening round.
MICHAEL MORALES BEATS GILBERT BURNS IN ROUND 1 #UFCVEGAS106 pic.twitter.com/oYYWSgLcxb
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 18, 2025
The victory moves Morales to 18-0 in his career with a perfect 6-0 resume in the UFC.
“This was tough work, hard work, always, I’ll tell you what every fight to me is tough and I always feel nervous,” Morales said after the win. “I was actually very, very nervous back there in the locker rooms before [the fight]. I’ll tell you what, they told me trust yourself, trust what you can do, trust your potential. We put in the work and we made it happen.
“My mom told me this, my grandma told me this, my mom is right here and she said ‘put that heavy hand and the rest will be history.’ This is to my mom. She’s here.”
It was a very impressive showing from Morales, who took a decided step up in competition for his first main event on Saturday.
With a significant size and reach advantage on his side, Morales was trying to keep Burns at the end of his punches from the start, as he exploded forward with strikes and then backed out again.
Midway through the opening round, Morales unleashed a barrage of punches attempting to overwhelm Burns, who immediately jumped on a leg to grab a brief takedown but the Ecuadorean welterweight was quick to break free to get back to his feet.
From there, Morales really started unloading on his punches with almost no fear of reprisal as Burns was desperately just trying to weather the storm. After Burns got dropped the first time, he was trying to use his grappling to slow the fight down but Morales was having none of it.
As soon as Morales slipped from Burns’ grasp, he began unleashing a barrage of punches that just melted his opponent and sent him crumbling to the canvas again. Morales’ killer instinct showed off as he dispatched Burns inside the first round.
With the win, Morales undoubtedly takes a huge step forward in the welterweight rankings and he’s ready for whoever the division throws at him next.
“I knew the whole welterweight division was going to come out for me,” Morales said. “They were going to come at me like sharks. Everybody trying to take my head off but I’ll tell you what, I’m always ready. Ready to go, whoever they want me to fight, as long as I’m healthy and ready to go, I’ll be ready for them.”
As for Burns, the 38-year-old veteran drops his fourth fight in a row overall and this latest setback was probably the toughest pill to swallow after falling to a young prospect rather than a proven contender from his past three losses to new champion Jack Della Maddalena, Belal Muhammad and Sean Brady.