Michael
Morales is not in awe of Islam
Makhachev. 

Makhachev won the welterweight title with a dominant unanimous
decision victory over Jack
Della Maddalena at UFC 322
this past November. Morales (19-0) also emerged as a fresh
contender on the same card with a brutal knockout win over Sean
Brady. 

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While other contenders like Carlos
Prates and Ian Garry are
also waiting in the wings, Makhachev wants to defend his title
against former champion Kamaru
Usman. However, Morales is also being considered a frontrunner
for the next title shot against Makhachev. Morales is not buying
into the air of invincibility around Makhachev. The undefeated
Ecuadorian sees Makhachev as just another athlete who hurts and
bleeds like he does. Morales just wants the title and is happy to
have Makhachev keep his legacy.

‘He Can Have His Legacy’

“I don’t see Islam as a threat,” Morales told Hablemos MMA. “… He’s
an athlete just like me, he’s a person just like me. He bleeds just
like me. So all I want is to take the title. He can have his
legacy, his history, but that’s his, not mine. What’s mine is mine.
I’ve worked very hard for what I want. And I won’t give him that
respect like, ‘Oh, you are the champion, all honors to you.’ No, I
want to be champ. So I’m going to work very hard to take his title.
I’m not going to idolize someone just because everyone else admires
them.”

Makhachev (28-1) is likely a future
UFC Hall of Famer with the legacy he has built. The Dagestani
standout is on a 15-fight winning streak since his lone
professional loss against Adriano
Martins in his sophomore UFC outing in 2015. Makhachev defended
his lightweight title four times, the most in the division’s
history, before moving up to welterweight. 

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

Internationaler Kampfkunst und Kampfsport Kleinanzeiger