UFC analyst Michael Chiesa believes Michael Morales could be a real problem for Islam Makhachev in the welterweight division.

Right now, Islam Makhachev is on top of the mixed martial arts world. He successfully retained his UFC welterweight championship against Ian Machado Garry, and in doing so, cemented himself as a fighter who will now feature in the greatest of all time conversation.

RELATED: Islam Makhachev dismisses Michael Morales as No. 1 contender following UFC 330: “I don't remember when he fightâ€

Of course, there are a lot of contenders waiting in line, and that includes Michael Morales. The young prospect has been tearing through everyone at 170 pounds, and a lot of people feel as if he has earned the right to challenge for the strap, even ahead of Carlos Prates.

In a recent podcast, Michael Chiesa explained why he thinks Morales could serve as a legitimate threat to Makhachev.

Chiesa's view on Morales vs Makhachev

“Morales is the biggest guy at 170 pounds,†Chiesa said. “He is the biggest welterweight, so the size and the wrestling, I think that could give him more problems than Prates. But I do think prates has more capability of landing a knockout shot. At times Michael can get a little bit wild. The more wild you are with your striking, the better lanes are created for a wrestler to shoot.

“Prates, I feel like wouldn't get over extended too much, would do a better job throwing kill shots and not getting himself extended. Morales at times can be a little bit wild. But his wrestling chops, size, and physicality – I think that could pose a big problem for Islam.â€

Quotes via MMA Junkie

Get ready, fight fans, because things are really heating up in the welterweight division.

Do you agree that Morales could give the champ problems? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, BJPENN Nation!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

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Reinier
de Ridder claims that the fight week ahead of his bout against
Caio
Borralho was the worst of his career.

The Dutchman suffered a lopsided unanimous decision loss in a
middleweight matchup against Borralho this past March, his last
outing at 185 pounds. He recently revealed that he had already
decided to move up to the
Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division
during fight week ahead of that bout.

De Ridder decided to leave middleweight during his weight cut
before facing Caio Borralho

The former two-division One
Championship titleholder recently recalled the days leading up
to the defeat to Borralho. He was coming off a stoppage loss to
Brendan
Allen, in which he visibly gassed out, prompting a corner
stoppage before the final round. “The Dutch Knight†has now
revealed that the weight cut for the Borralho fight was even worse
than the one that preceded the Allen bout.

“It was before the fight, during the weight cut I said, ‘This is
the last time. I'm never gonna do this again,'†de Ridder told Full
Send MMA. “That week was the worst fight week I've ever had.
Everything went wrong. That fight week was the worst week I've ever
had… Even worse than the Vancouver week. Nothing medical stuff,
wasn't a hospital, I don't want to make up any excuses, but it
wasn't good.â€

He finally moved up to 205 pounds for good against Roman
Dolidze at
UFC Sacramento, scoring a first-round stoppage to return to
winning ways.

Reinier
de Ridder admits he knew before the fight with Caio
Borralho he was leaving middleweight

“It was before the fight, during the weight cut I said I'm never
doing this again. Everything went wrong. That fight week was the
worst week I've ever had†pic.twitter.com/WZBmZR1XgB

— FULL SEND MMA (@full_send_mma)
August 23, 2026

Two names came to mind for Gilbert
Burns when asked about who possesses the best jiu-jitsu in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Burns (22-10) himself was a feared jiu-jitsu artist with nine
career submissions. “Durinho†complimenting someone's jiu-jitsu
certainly carries weight and he recently revealed that two of his
compatriots have the best grappling in the UFC, although in
different aspects.

Charles Oliveira gets Burns' nod for MMA jiu-jitsu, while Diego
Lopes stands out in the pure form

Burns believes Charles
Oliveira has the best MMA-focused jiu-jitsu in the UFC.
However, he notes that MMA-focused jiu-jitsu is very different from
pure jiu-jitsu, with the striking aspect completely out of the
equation. According to the former fighter, Diego Lopes
has the best pure jiu-jitsu game.

“Pure jiu-jitsu – that's a different question,†Burns told MMA
Fighting. “Because jiu-jitsu in the UFC, I would say Charles
[Oliveira] is up there. But pure jiu-jitsu, I think Diego Lopes has
great pure jiu-jitsu. That's what I heard from a lot of guys who
trained with him.â€

Oliveira (37-11) is undoubtedly one of the greatest jiu-jitsu
artists in the history of mixed martial arts. The former
lightweight champ has the most finishes and submissions in UFC
history. He is on a two-fight winning streak and coming off a BMF
title win over Max
Holloway.

Meanwhile, Lopes left his home in Brazil at the age of 19 to teach
jiu-jitsu in Mexico, which has since become a second home to him.
He is 2-2 in his last four, with both losses coming in failed
featherweight title bids against Alexander
Volkanovski. He's revealed his intentions to move up to
lightweight, so a clash against Oliveira could be on the cards.

Gilbert
Burns has two names for the best jiu-jitsu in MMA:

“MMA jiu-jitsu, it’s Charles
Oliveira. Pure jiu-jitsu, it’s Diego
Lopes.”

(🎥 @JoseYoungs)
pic.twitter.com/KpBHIYt0vj

— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting)
August 24, 2026