On February 15th, Vince Morales stepped into the cage against upstart prospect Elijah Smith. A close back and forth battle was left in the hands of the judges. Some high spots for Morales made him feel like he was in the perfect position to pick up his first win since returning to the UFC. However, the judges just didn’t see it that way.
“It felt like when the fight ended, the way it ended and the position we ended, I was like, that third round is kind of up for grabs. All I know is I was pushing and I think I had that choke locked in. I’m like, maybe they see that and I win that round and win the fight,” Morales explained. “I remember Coach Wood pulling out his phone to record them announcing the decision. And I’m like, okay, cool. We got it. We got it.”
While not taking anything away from Smith, who he noted fought an excellent fight, he did blame his tendancy to bleed as one of the reasons for the judges’ decisions. Regardless of the reason, Morales resolved to get right back at it and get booked as soon as possible.
“My initial thought right after, cause I went and spoke with one of my managers. I was like, dude, I don’t know why I can’t get right on these decisions, but that’s not sitting well with me. And the sooner I can get back in there, the sooner I’m going to feel better,” he said. “[My manager] said, well stay ready. As those stitches were out, I was right back to the, right back on the grind.”
The call came not that far down the road with a offer and not much time to prepare. The UFC wanted him to fight this weekend in Mexico City against Raul Rosas Jr. – just six weeks after his last fight. Not only was the timing right for him, but the situation was one he couldn’t turn down.
“I owe it to myself to put my best foot forward and really try to make the most I can out of the opportunity to go fight somebody with that kind of hype and in an area like Mexico city with a giant crowd,” Morales said. “I’m just trying to do everything I can to really enjoy every moment and make the most of it and make sure these guys know that like I’m here to stay.”
You can catch his fight with Rosas Jr. as part of the UFC Mexico main card. That portion of the card begins this Saturday at 7pm EST on ESPN+ and ESPN2.
