UFC legend Dominick Cruz has expressed his interest in seeing Michael Morales challenge for the UFC welterweight championship.
As we know, Michael Morales is one of the most exciting prospects in all of mixed martial arts. In his most recent outing, he surprised many by knocking out Sean Brady, firmly establishing himself as a top guy at 170 pounds.
Islam Makhachev, meanwhile, is in need of an opponent. The likes of Ian Machado Garry, Shavkat Rakhmonov, Kamaru Usman and even Ilia Topuria have been mentioned, but despite his big win, Michael Morales isn't getting spoken about all too much.
In a recent interview, Dominick Cruz explained why Michael Morales fighting for the belt would be pretty interesting.
Dominick Cruz’s view on Michael Morales’ future
"You could give Morales a title shot," Cruz told MMA Junkie. "I've seen that guy in the gym, and there's things about him that don't make sense. The way that he moves, I'm telling you. He's a freak gymnast. He can do the craziest things. He can really challenge the strength of Makhachev differently than anybody. Now, the technique is what has not been tested with Morales.
"I would love to see any of those fights," Cruz said. "I've been loving watching Morales fight. To me, he's just been really fun to watch because he has such an unconventional style, to me. He's just a brute. He's just the guy who comes over to you and hits you on top of the head and it's like, 'How is he doing this?' It doesn't look super technical all the time, but he always gets it done, and he's so powerful.
"He covers distance so much, he kind of reminds me how Yoel Romero used to cover so much distance with power and explosiveness. He kind of has that athleticism and feel to me, but without the wrestling background obviously. He's got very strong hips. He's hard to take down. It would be very interesting to see how he does against Makhachev. But against any of those guys (in the top five) would be awesome to watch."
Quotes via MMA Junkie