UFC bantamweight veteran Albert Morales wants to steal the show at Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz 3 next month.
Albert Morales never thought he’d fight on the same card as Chuck Liddell, one of his favorite fighters of all time, but that opportunity comes in less than a month.
Morales, a UFC veteran, is set to face James Barnes on the undercard of Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz 3 on Nov. 24 in Los Angeles. The bantamweight has been sidelined since a February loss to Manny Bermudez, which led to his UFC release. Until Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions came calling, Morales hadn’t been able to get a fight since then, frustrating him. Now scheduled to fight next month, he is excited to be featured on Golden Boy’s first MMA card. The Barnes fight marks his first pro bout in his hometown, making it that much sweeter.
“I’m so happy,” Morales told BloodyElbow.com. “It’s at The Forum, I’m at home, I finally get to fight again. The UFC didn’t give me the opportunity (to fight in Los Angeles), oh well, I can’t cry about that. Now I have the opportunity to fight at home. I get to fight with one of my favorite fighters of all time, Chuck Liddell. I can’t ask for anything more. What’s a better homecoming than this?”
Because Golden Boy has never put on an MMA show before, it’s difficult to tell from the outside how big of an opportunity being on this card — particularly the undercard, like Morales — really is. In general, we know what fighting for organizations like Bellator, PFL, and LFA means for fighters, but what about the Liddell vs. Ortiz 3 card? How big of a success will it be?
Though that doesn’t matter all that much to Morales because he just needs to get back into the cage, he looks at this fight as a “huge opportunity.”
“I think for the fact that it’s Oscar De Le Hoya’s first promotion, I actually think he cares about this promotion,” Morales said. “I think it’s going to be something that he’s going to invest a lot of time into. I don’t think it’s going to be a one-hit wonder.
“Obviously, the exposure is a huge concern. The first thing I asked was whether I was on the main card or the undercard. Once they told me I was on the undercard, I was kinda bummed out. But at the same time, I just need to fight.”
Morales admitted that Liddell vs. Ortiz 3 feels like a boxing card in the sense that it’s the main event and then everything else — which makes sense, considering it’s being put on by a longtime boxing promoter in De La Hoya. Unlike UFC cards, that’s how boxing events are promoted. Undercards typically don’t get much attention.
“The Warrior” understands everyone will be talking about Liddell vs. Ortiz 3 — and that’s about it — going into the card, so he’s made it his goal to have everyone talking about him after the card.
“Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell is obviously the big meat and potatoes, and everything else is just up-and-comers or old-school fighters — nothing that really draws anyone’s attention,” Morales said. “That’s what I’m trying to be.
“I’m always trying to steal the show. Coming into the UFC, I wanted those bonus checks. The only way to get bonus checks is to go out there and fight. I want to be remembered as the greatest bantamweight of my generation. Not of all time — I’m not that greedy.”
The majority of the Liddell vs. Ortiz 3 card might not be so “juicy,” Morales said, but he’s a big fan of the headliner, adding that it’s “fair” and “real.” He hopes it plays out like Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar at The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale in 2005, a pivotal fight in the sport’s history.
And it might just give some undercard fighters a wider audience.
“I think it’s an awesome fight,” Morales said. “Not only is it a great fight for MMA, you’re giving these guys who don’t have hype an opportunity to create some hype. That’s why I appreciate Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz.
“I think it’s the perfect fight for [the card]. You can’t make a card without a superstar star fight. I think it’s going to be a huge success. I think everybody wants to see Chuck Liddell fight.”
For Morales, this is an opportunity to stand out. He’ll have some new eyes on him. He plans on capitalizing on that, and hopes others do the same.
“I’m just hoping that these fighters go out there and show up,” he said. “Take the opportunity. We get to go out there and fight on one of the biggest spectacles of the year. Go out there and let people remember your name.”