MICHAEL MORALES

Biography

Michael Jonathan Morales Hurtado (born June 24, 1999) is an Ecuadorian professional mixed martial artist . He currently competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of February 3, 2026, he is #3 in the UFC welterweight rankings . Michael Morales was born in 1999 in Pasaje , El Oro , Ecuador. He is the son of judokas, a discipline he has been practicing since he was five years old, with his mother as his first coach. His mother, international judo referee Katty Hurtado, is a third dan judo black belt who retired from competition when she was 42. At the age of 10, he switched from judo to wrestling , where he won several youth tournaments. At the age of 14, his father took him to Víctor Vallejo's academy in Machala, where he began to practice mixed martial arts . After doing MMA as an amateur, he made his professional MMA debut at age 16.