Omar Morales (fighter)
Omar Antonio Morales Ferrer[1] (born October 17, 1985) is a Venezuelan mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight and Lightweight divisions. He is most notable for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Omar Morales | |
---|---|
Born | Omar Antonio Morales Ferrer[1] October 17, 1985 Caracas, Venezuela |
Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
Weight | 155 lb (70 kg; 11 st 1 lb) |
Division | Lightweight Featherweight |
Reach | 73.0 in (185 cm)[2] |
Fighting out of | Florida, United States |
Team | Sanford MMA |
Years active | 2011–present |
Mixed martial arts record | |
Total | 15 |
Wins | 11 |
By knockout | 2 |
By submission | 5 |
By decision | 4 |
Losses | 4 |
By knockout | 1 |
By submission | 1 |
By decision | 2 |
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog |
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Starting his career in 2011, Morales compiled a 7–0 record, fighting mainly for various regional Venezuelan promotions and picking up a knockout win at Bellator 204. Morales moved to United States in order to pursuit his career in mixed martial arts in 2015.[3]
Dana White's Contender Series
Morales was eventually invited to Dana White's Contender Series 23, where he faced the then Legacy Fighting Alliance Lightweight champ, Harvey Park, for a UFC contract. he finished the fight with the use of leg kicks and eventually winning by TKO, earning himself a chance into the UFC.[4]
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Morales made his promotional debut facing Dong Hyun Ma on December 21, 2019, at UFC on ESPN+ 23. He won the fight by unanimous decision.[5]
Next Morales faced Gabriel Benítez on May 13, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira.[6] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[7]
Morales then faced Giga Chikadze on October 11, 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen.[8] He lost the fight by unanimous decision.[9]
Morales faced Shane Young on March 27, 2021, at UFC 260.[10] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[11]
Morales faced Jonathan Pearce on September 25, 2021, at UFC 266.[12] He lost the fight via rear-naked choke in round two.[13]
Morales faced Uroš Medić on May 21, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 206.[14] He lost the fight via technical knockout in round two.[15]
Morales was scheduled to face Mateusz Rębecki on January 14, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 217.[16] However, Morales withdrew the fight for Undisclosed reasons.[17]
Morales faced Chris Duncan, replacing Michal Figlak, on March 18, 2023, at UFC 286.[18] He lost the fight via split decision.[19]
On June 5, 2023, news surfaced that Morales had fought out his contract and the organization opted not to renew it.[20]
Mixed martial arts record
15 matches | 11 wins | 4 losses |
By knockout | 2 | 1 |
By submission | 5 | 1 |
By decision | 4 | 2 |
Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 11–4 | Chris Duncan | Decision (split) | UFC 286 | March 18, 2023 | 3 | 5:00 | London, England | |
Loss | 11–3 | Uroš Medić | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Vieira | May 21, 2022 | 2 | 3:05 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Return to Lightweight. |
Loss | 11–2 | Jonathan Pearce | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 266 | September 25, 2021 | 2 | 3:31 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 11–1 | Shane Young | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 260 | March 27, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Loss | 10–1 | Giga Chikadze | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen | October 11, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | Featherweight debut. |
Win | 10–0 | Gabriel Benítez | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira | May 13, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Jacksonville, Florida, United States | |
Win | 9–0 | Ma Dong-hyun | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. The Korean Zombie | December 21, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Busan, South Korea | |
Win | 8–0 | Harvey Park | TKO (leg kicks and punches) | Dana White's Contender Series 23 | August 6, 2019 | 2 | 1:06 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 7–0 | Troy Nawrocki | KO (punches) | Bellator 204 | August 17, 2018 | 1 | 0:58 | Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States | |
Win | 6–0 | Jhan Zuniga | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Latin American Championship | February 20, 2016 | 1 | 3:14 | Valencia, Venezuela | |
Win | 5–0 | Danilo Padilha da Silva | Decision (unanimous) | Fight Time 25 | May 29, 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Miami, Florida, United States | |
Win | 4–0 | Stefan Werleman | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Eye 4N Eye Fighting Championships | September 26, 2014 | 1 | 0:49 | Oranjestad, Aruba | |
Win | 3–0 | Wilmer Gonzalez | Submission (guillotine choke) | Supremacia MMA 2 | October 27, 2012 | 1 | 1:54 | Caracas, Venezuela | |
Win | 2–0 | Jesus Rodriguez | Submission (armbar) | Pugilatus MMA | August 18, 2012 | 1 | 3:34 | Los Teques, Venezuela | |
Win | 1–0 | Angel Brito | Submission | GOV 2 | November 26, 2011 | 1 | N/A | Maturín, Venezuela |
See also
References
- Mixed martial arts show results Date: August 6, 2019
- "Stats | UFC". ufcstats.com. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
- Danny Segura (March 25, 2021). "UFC's Omar Morales feels duty to represent Venezuela as athletics struggle in ongoing crisis". MMAjunkie.com.
- Martin, Damon (2020-05-13). "Dana White's Contender Series: Season 3, Week 7 Results: 3 fighters awarded UFC contracts". MMAFighting. Retrieved 2020-10-09.
- Anderson, Jay (2019-12-21). "UFC Busan Results: Omar Morales Outworks Dong Hyun Ma in Decision Win". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2019-12-22.
- DNA, MMA. "Gabriel Benitez vs. Omar Morales toegevoegd aan UFC evenement op 13 mei". Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- McClory, Mike (2020-05-13). "UFC Jacksonville Results: Omar Morales Earns Victory, Gabriel Benitez Boasts Nasty Injury". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
- Staff (2020-09-02). "Omar Morales vs. Giga Chikadze added to UFC event on October 10". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2020-09-02. (in Dutch)
- Doherty, Dan (2020-10-10). "UFC Fight Island 5 Results: Giga Chikadze Overwhelms Omar Morales With Striking". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
- Marvin France (2021-02-19). "Brad Riddell again left frustrated by MIQ voucher system after booking big UFC bout". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
- Anderson, Jay (2021-03-27). "UFC 260 Results: Omar Morales Bests Shane Young, Earns Decision Win". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
- Behunin, Alex (2021-08-19). "Omar Morales vs. Jonathan Pearce Added To UFC 266". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
- Evanoff, Josh (2021-09-25). "UFC 266 Results: Jonathan Pearce Submits Omar Morales". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
- ATSteveDuncan (2022-02-23). "Omar Morales vs. Uros Medic agregado a UFC Fight Night del 21 de mayo". MMA.uno , #1 En noticias de Artes Marciales Mixtas (MMA) en Español. (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- Anderson, Jay (2022-05-21). "UFC Vegas 55: The Doctor Is In! Uros Medic Stuns Omar Morales with Second-Round TKO". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-05-22.
- "Debiut w UFC potwierdzony! Mateusz Rębecki skrzyżuje rękawice z mocnym kickbokserem!". lowking.pl. 2022-11-03. Retrieved 2022-11-03. (in Polish)
- "Omar Morales wypada z walki! Mateusz Rębecki z nowym przeciwnikiem na debiut w UFC!". Lowking.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2022-12-29.
- Arshad (2023-02-08). "UFC 286: Omar Morales to Replace Michal Figlak Against Chris Duncan". www.itnwwe.com. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
- Val Dewar (2023-03-18). "UFC 286: Chris Duncan Grinds His Way to Decision Victory Over Omar Morales". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
- Damon Martin (June 5, 2023). "Makwan Amirkhani, Trevin Jones and four more fighters removed from UFC roster". mmafighting.com.
- Sherdog.com. "Omar Morales". Sherdog. Retrieved 2021-09-25.