Vince Morales Gets His Wish

When the occasion arose, Vince Morales didn’t fail to seize the moment. Morales (11-5, 3-3 UFC) agreed to face Nathaniel Wood at UFC Fight Night 204 after Wood’s original opponent, Liudvik Sholinian, remained in his native Ukraine due to the ongoing Russian invasion. The last time Morales competed, last December at UFC on ESPN 31, he stopped Louis Smolka with punches in the first frame. Afterward, the Syndicate MMA representative called out Wood in his post-fight interview. Now, his wish has been granted as the pair will lock horns on Saturday in London.

“When I saw that [Sholinian’s withdrawal] was happening, since I called [Wood] out already, I felt like it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t volunteer and put my name in there. It was for the card that I had thrown out there. It’s kind of weird how that worked out. He is a stand-and-trade kind of guy, so I don’t have to worry about any wrestling going on with him. Before I even got signed, I watched one of his fights and, back then, I thought we would match up well, and then I said to myself, ‘When I get in the show, I’m probably gonna end up fighting him.’ He is called ‘The Prospect’ for a reason, he’s been a prospect for a minute. Those are the kind of guys that I want to face and prove that I can beat. I want to fight the best guys in the division.”

In addition to talking about his camp for “UFC London,” Morales also explained that “Vandetta” isn’t his nickname but just his middle name, discussed about the mixed martial arts fans’ behavior during the events, and more.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro
(00:35) His weight cutting
(00:56) Replacing Sholinian
(01:46) Calling out Wood
(02:57) His expectations for his trip to the UK
(04:04) His sparring partner for this fight
(05:00) Attending UFC 272 and his thoughts on the main event
(06:05) Commenting on fans’ behavior during events
(07:48) Clearing up that “Vandetta” isn’t his nickname
(08:31) Picking Alexander Volkov vs. Tom Aspinall
(09:00) His prediction for his fight
(09:18) His options for his walkout song
(10:11) Acknowledgments and outro

Tudor Leonte started writing about mixed martial arts in 2013 for Italian media outlets. His journey with Sherdog began in 2018 and he now covers One Championship and countless European shows. You can follow him on Twitter @MrTudorLeonte.