The year is 2025 and it will be ending in less than two months, and
the promotion has the matchmaking wherewithal to jam a pair of very
unranked .500 fighters together and plop it on the co-main event
slot intentionally. Schnell (17-9, 1 NC; 7-7, 1 NC UFC) has
established himself as a “live by the sword, die by the sword”
competitor with way more stoppages on his win-loss ledger than
decisions. “Bopo” Morales (13-2, 2-2 UFC) is looking to make the
most of his second stint with the promotion, having won his return
in August by submission to capture the trophy of Season 33 of “The
Ultimate Fighter.” Taking charge of the cage for this no-nonsense
flyweight affair where the winner may not get a number next to
their name on Monday is referee Keith Peterson. Gloves are
touched. Schnell moves to the center of the cage, keeping his hands
outstretched and measuring with a body kick. Schnell trades hands
with his opponent, and Morales clips him with punches and a high
kick. “Bopo” crashes forward behind a right hand, and Schnell trips
him up and puts him on the ground. Morales quickly reverses him by
tripping out the ankle, and he races over to climb into side
control just 75 seconds into the round. Morales maintains heavy,
tight chest and shoulder pressure, grinding on Schnell’s face with
his elbow and otherwise keeping him from scrambling. Schnell throws
his legs up high for a possible reversal, and Morales counters by
going two-on-one to control Schnell’s left arm. Morales fights out
of a triangle choke and hooks up a crucifix position from the
back. Schnell explodes to turn over and claim top position, and “Bopo”
answers him flawlessly. Schnell puts himself in the worst possible place when pursuing a
counter takedown, placing his neck practically into the jaws of a
guillotine choke setup from the Team Alpha Male fighter. Morales
tightens his grip without having to adjust much, and Schnell
promptly surrenders. Commentator Paul Felder promptly
questions the strategy of Schnell on the broadcast, raising other
questions that came up last week during the infamous Dulgarian vs.
Del Valle match. We won’t touch on those here, and will instead
note that a member of TAM landed one of their vaunted guillotines,
the first in how long? It is the third sub in a row for Morales,
and his second back-to-back in the UFC cage.

Tonight’s the night, and it’s going to happen again and again. Has
to happen. Nice night. Chicago is a great town. I love the deep
dish pizza, even if it’s no match for a giant New York slice. We
have before us a dozen matches of varied intrigue, with the least
interesting—sorry TUF, but your model is antiquated and worn
out—starting off first. Not because they are flyweights, but
because the victor between Idiris (10-0, 0-0 UFC) and Morales
(12-2, 1-2 UFC) will earn a six-figure UFC contract that does not
look nearly as appealing as it did 20 years ago. Still, business
must be settled, and referee Nick Cimmarusti is assigned to the
opening proceeding. The match with a shiny crystalline trophy on
the line commences with a touch of gloves. Morales is the immediate aggressor, going right after Idiris
throwing big punches. Idiris takes one or two on the chin and
counters back, and he circles away. Morales keeps the pressure up
even as a front kick pushes him away, and he dodges a spinning back
fist to get hands on his opponent. Idiris tries for a wheel kick
that bounces off the guard, and Morales catches him in the middle
of the air when Idiris goes after a flying knee. The two slow
things down in the clinch, with Morales jamming his foe up and
working him with short knees. Idiris gives him a few knees back to
think about as they jockey back and forth for position. Fans grow
restless after this prolonged grappling exchange, and have already
started booing 90 seconds into the event. Morales tries to wrestle
his man to the floor, and he comes up top with a knee that pounds
into Idiris’ forehead. The fighters split up, and Idiris works the
body on the way out. Morales throws back body shots, and he ducks under a spinning back
fist to hit a double-leg takedown. When he finds himself on top,
Morales starts attacking with elbows, and Cimmarusti warns Idiris
for striking the back of the head. Morales lowers himself down to
pursue an arm-triangle choke while still in half guard, and Idiris
is quick to defend it but gives up full mount in the process.
Morales lets go of the submission to allow Idiris to turn around,
and he takes the back and wraps a triangle around the midsection.
Idiris stands back up despite Morales on his back, and Morales
slugs him in the sides of the dome. Morales lets go of the back
take to turn himself around and drive a knee to the body, and when
Idiris considers a takedown, Morales counters with a kimura to
reverse the position and get on Idiris’ back again. Morales gets in
his hooks and wraps up an arm-in rear-naked choke. The forearm
slides beneath the chin, and Idiris issues a thumbs-up to the
camera and rides out the round. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Morales Devin Tejada scores the round: 10-9 Morales Scottie Smith scores the round: 10-9 Morales

To keep Morales from grabbing hold of him—after they share a fist
bump—Idiris starts letting loose with spinning and flashy strikes.
Nothing lands of note, but he keeps Morales honest enough to not
shoot for naked takedowns. Idiris spins with a well-timed back fist
that rebounds off Morales’ head, but Morales ignores it and
pressures his man back. Chants for “U.S.A.” rain down for Morales,
who can only channel their energy with a knee to the body and a
right hand up top to split them up. Idiris pitches a high kick when
Morales advances, and a Morales right hand gets the newcomer’s
attention. Morales lays into the unbeaten fighter with body shots,
and Idiris covers his torso and is not faring well from the attack.
He spins wildly, and Morales knocks him off his feet with a counter
right hand. Morales leaps on top to take the back as Idiris tries
to scramble, and he flirts with a banana split where he would
torque Idiris’ leg far in the wrong direction. Idiris fights out of the leglock and turns all the way through to
put Morales on his back, only for Morales to wrap up a triangle
choke in response. The choke is instantly tight, and Idiris does
not know what to do and does not move. Before long, he taps out on
Morales’ chest , and just like that, Morales is the
flyweight tournament winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 33.
"Bopo" drops to his knees after letting the choke go, and fans boom
cheers of “USA” for the victor. Tears well up in Morales’ eyes, who
looked like a man on a mission en route to a statement triumph.

Joseph Morales

Fight History

Fighter Skills Radar

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Striking Profile

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Grappling Profile

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Conclusions Summary