Outside Source
The success of “The Ultimate Fighter” has long been credited as the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s gateway into the mainstream. Beyond cultivating a new generation of fighters and fans, the series inspired production companies around the world to create their own adaptations of the mixed martial arts reality television format. Eleven years after first season of TUF first aired, a similar concept emerged in Quito, Ecuador, with the launch of a new MMA reality series titled “Ultima Pelea.”
Advertisement
“Ultima Pelea” aired for four seasons on Ecuadorian television network CNT Sports. The program featured young, up-and-coming Ecuadorian mixed martial artists competing in exhibition bouts contested over two five-minute rounds. Among the participants in the second and fourth seasons was Michael Morales, who would later rise to prominence as a top-ranked UFC welterweight title contender. At the time of filming the second season, Morales was just 17 years old and had no prior professional MMA experience.
During that season, Morales competed twice. His first bout came against Christian Arroyo, who was also making his mixed martial arts debut, in the second episode. Morales later faced Ricardo Centeno in the 10th episode; Centeno had already made his professional debut and entered the bout with a record of 1–5.
All bouts leading up to the season finals were filmed in local gyms with limited attendance, consisting primarily of fellow competitors and a production crew mirroring the intimate setting seen in “The Ultimate Fighter.” In his first appearance, Morales secured a takedown and earned a stoppage victory over Arroyo via strikes from the mount in the second round. In his second bout, Morales was snared by the more experienced Centeno in a deep triangle choke in the first round. Footage from these tapings has been publicly available on YouTube since 2018.
However, due to the exhibition nature of the bouts, they were never recorded by any major MMA recordkeeping platforms. In 2022, as Morales ascended the UFC welterweight rankings, Sherdog contacted the show’s producers, Nacho Lorduguin and Eduardo Filippini, to verify the status of the bouts. Given that the contests were always designated as exhibitions, and that we had not received complete tournament results at the time, they were omitted by Sherdog Fight Finder.
On Tuesday, combat sports database Tapology announced on social media that it had identified the “Ultima Pelea” bouts and elected to classify them as professional contests. This decision altered Morales’ record from 19–0 to 20–1, a change that immediately drew significant attention and controversy throughout the MMA community. Following Tapology’s decision, Morales was the first to respond, putting out a short but fiery Instagram post with the caption: “I’m going to punch injustice in the face,” while cursing out the recordkeeper.
In response to the reaction, Sherdog reached out the producers of “Ultima Pelea,” who issued the following statement:
“Tapology recorded as professional two of the exhibition bouts that Michael Morales competed in on ‘Ultima Pelea: El Reality.’ These bouts were registered without consulting or verifying with us, the producers of the show. ‘Ultima Pelea’ was a TUF-style reality show produced in Ecuador from 2016 to 2019. Over 50 Ecuadorian fighters, representing some of the best of their generation, participated. All bouts on the show were strictly exhibition contests contested over two five-minute rounds. This was established and agreed upon from day one and was never disputed.
“We at ‘Ultima Pelea’ have never officially recorded wins or losses for Michael Morales, nor for any other participant. If Tapology were to classify these exhibition bouts as professional, an entire generation of Ecuadorian mixed martial artists would see their records drastically altered. Arbitrarily selecting a single season involving a highly regarded fighter like Michael Morales and documenting it inaccurately is potentially harmful to his career. When individuals achieve great success, it often provokes envy and attempts to create obstacles in their path. This appears to be the case here.”
Following widespread criticism from fans and industry observers, Tapology subsequently reversed its decision a day later. The platform acknowledged that its more recent approach to categorizing reality show bouts as professional did not reflect its stance at the time the “Ultima Pelea” bouts took place. Morales’ record was reinstated to 19–0, with the bouts from “Ultima Pelea” properly classified as exhibitions.
It remains crucial to reassert why the matches were considered exhibitions initially. While Sherdog Fight Finder listed reasons for this classification in our 2023 piece titled “Taste of India,” which addressed an unbeaten prospect and his seemingly manipulated record, we will restate them. It is not the number of rounds, as many international organizations run 2×5 matches regularly. It has nothing to do with the lack of elbow strikes at “Ultima Pelea,” as promotions occasionally add that stipulation but are still considered pro.
Rather, it is the tape-delayed nature of the bouts, where the organization runs its reality show fights with no third-party regulators witnessing the proceedings. That league then hides its results until air date—the publication date on YouTube of the “Ultima Pelea” episodes is not the same as when they were recorded—which is what violates rules adopted by Sherdog Fight Finder over two decades ago for all tape-delayed events. As a note, even though the 15th season of TUF held live matches, the Nevada State Athletic Commission deemed them the same status as any other TUF bout. We hold this same standard to all pre-recorded shows, be it TUF, M-1 Reality, ALF Reality, Qadya MO Show, Hype Reality, African Knockout and beyond.
Mixed martial arts remain a developing sport across much of South America. Many countries in the region lack formal athletic commissions or consistent regulatory oversight, resulting in inconsistencies in recordkeeping. Most fighters have competed professionally for years without ever interacting with entities like Sherdog Fight Finder. Despite these challenges, Sherdog remains committed to maintaining the most accurate and reliable MMA database possible, continuing its efforts to document the sport with diligence and integrity.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
Help support MMACrazies.com when you shop Amazon by starting your online Amazon shopping at MMACrazies.com/recommends/amazon. You are not charged extra, but we receive a small and very helpful commission on everything you purchase. Thanks for thinking of us every time you shop at Amazon.
