Joseph Morales
Skill profile
138 MMA anchors Striking, Grappling · his tags and claims adjust Accuracy, Wrestling, TD Defense, Control · stats alone on Striking D, Durability.
Built on 54 minutes of tracked cage time across 6 statted fights — every axis is held down until there is more tape, so read this as a sketch rather than a verdict.
Career rates — the raw numbers behind the chart
Insider info
vs Brandon Moreno lean UFC Fight Night Silva vs Delgado Full Card Preview & Predictions · September 9, 2026
Picks Morales for 'his time,' then caps it with a direct "Maybe I'm wrong" -- a hedge on the pick itself, not just on method.
Morales is on a five-fight win streak since returning to the UFC and looks sharper than before. He boxes well behind forward pressure and body work, and is especially good at chaining strikes directly into takedowns, then controlling from the back and hunting chokes. He also stays dangerous off his own back, attacking submissions without giving up position. The analyst favors him here specifically for his grappling specialty against a fading veteran.
vs Matt Schnell clear UFC Fight Night Bonfim vs Brown Analysis, Breakdown and Predictions · November 4, 2025 · 1 read since
"I got to go Morales" -- a defensive-durability mechanism given plainly, with the feet called competitive, not a toss-up on the win itself
Graded a good striker built on pressure in the pocket, solid body work and sharp boxing combinations, mostly used to set up his wrestling. Rated a solid grappler built around chaining takedowns off his strikes, taking the back, and controlling there while hunting a rear naked choke -- the analyst says it is genuinely hard to shake him off the back once he is attached. He is also active from his own back if reversed.
Striking trend
Fight history
L Brandon Moreno 23-10-2 walk-in Decision - Split · R3 5:00 — Noche UFC: Silva vs. Delgado · September 12, 2026
W Matt Schnell 17-9 walk-in Submission · R1 2:54 — UFC Fight Night: Bonfim vs. Brown · November 8, 2025
W Alibi Idiris 0-0 walk-in TITLE Submission · R2 3:04 — UFC 319: Du Plessis vs. Chimaev · August 16, 2025
L Eric Shelton 11-5 walk-in Decision - Split · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Korean Zombie vs. Rodriguez · November 10, 2018
L Deiveson Figueiredo 13-0 walk-in KO/TKO · R2 4:34 — UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Anders · February 3, 2018
W Robert Sanchez 0-0 walk-in Submission · R1 3:56 — UFC Fight Night: Pettis vs. Moreno · August 5, 2017
Walk-in records count UFC bouts in this database. For the pre-UFC career, see the record breakdown below or the Tapology button up top.
Record breakdown
Wins by method
Losses by method
Fights by organization
Full career — 16 fights, every organization
| Opponent | Method | Event | Org | Rd | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | Matt Schnell | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC Fight Night: Bonfim vs. Brown
November 8, 2025 |
UFC | 1 | 2:54 |
| W | Alibi Idiris | Submission (triangle choke) | UFC 319
August 16, 2025 |
UFC | 2 | 3:04 |
| W | Anthony Do | Submission (triangle choke) | Urijah Faber's A1 Combat 8
February 3, 2023 |
Urijah Faber's A1 Combat | 3 | 4:46 |
| W | Sidemar Honorio | Decision (split) | Cage Warriors 133
March 4, 2022 |
Cage Warriors | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Kevin Wirth | Decision (unanimous) | Cage Warriors 126
August 1, 2021 |
Cage Warriors | 3 | 5:00 |
| L | Eric Shelton | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: The Korean Zombie vs. Rodríguez
November 10, 2018 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| L | Deiveson Figueiredo | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Anders
February 3, 2018 |
UFC | 2 | 4:34 |
| W | Roberto Sanchez | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC Fight Night: Pettis vs. Moreno
August 5, 2017 |
UFC | 1 | 3:56 |
| W | Sean Santella | TKO (punches) | Cage Fury FC 64
March 25, 2017 |
Cage Fury FC | 2 | 3:24 |
| W | Josh Paiva | Decision (unanimous) | Global Knockout 8
November 19, 2016 |
Global Knockout | 5 | 5:00 |
| W | Gerald Bailey | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Global Knockout 7
August 27, 2016 |
Global Knockout | 1 | 3:48 |
| W | Sammy Saunders | Submission (triangle choke) | Global Knockout 6
March 26, 2016 |
Global Knockout | 1 | 3:50 |
| W | Gerald Bailey | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Global Knockout 4
August 29, 2015 |
Global Knockout | 1 | 2:30 |
| W | Benji Gomez | Submission (rear-naked choke) | West Coast FC 14
May 30, 2015 |
West Coast FC | 2 | 2:21 |
| W | Roque Reyes | TKO (punches) | West Coast FC 13
February 28, 2015 |
West Coast FC | 1 | 1:43 |
| W | Christian Espinosa | Decision (unanimous) | WSOF 16
December 13, 2014 |
WSOF | 3 | 5:00 |
Career history from the fighter's Wikipedia record table (Joseph Morales (fighter)) — results only, no strike stats; UFC bouts are marked and carry full stats in the fight history above.
Division context
Headshot of Joseph Morales by UFC · Official UFC athlete photo (copyright UFC; not freely licensed) · Wikimedia Commons · flattened onto dark background, cropped/resized