Michael Morales gave a clear look at the final stretch of his UFC 330 weight cut this weekend, posting multiple updates to his Instagram stories as he moved closer to Friday's weigh-ins.
In the first post over the weekend, Morales weighed 223.1 pounds. In the most recent update, he was down to 193.5 pounds, and later he posted a picture showing 190.7 pounds. That left him with 23.5 pounds still to cut before he is scheduled to make 170 pounds for the UFC 330 weigh-ins on Friday.
Why the number matters
Morales is serving as the backup fighter for UFC 330, which means his role is contingent on one of the main event fighters not making the fight. That makes the weigh-in process especially important, because the backup needs to be ready to step in if needed and still be on championship weight.
On Saturday, Islam Makhachev is scheduled to defend his welterweight title against Ian Machado Garry in the main event. If everything goes as planned, Morales will not be needed. If not, he has to be ready to step in after making weight on Friday.
The updates show just how much work is still left in the final days of fight week. Morales had already cut more than 20 pounds from his starting point over the weekend, but the last stretch is often the most demanding part of the process, especially when a title-fight backup role is involved.
