TUF 33 flyweight champion ‘Bopo’ Joseph Morales hasn’t had much change since winning the show. Apart from a few instances when people recognized him in public and gave his son the “wrong” idea.
“I was at In-N-Out and I was eating. I was about to take a bite, and this guy comes over and he’s like, ‘Hey, you fought in the UFC, great fight.’
“My son, he just tells me I’m famous. And I try to tell him no, we’re not famous.”
Despite Morales’ pleas that he was not actually famous, multiple instances of people recognizing him painted a different story.
“His thing is ‘If I do good at football or win my jiu jitsu tournaments, I’ll get recognized.’ He’s more excited than I am to be recognized in those weird spots.”
With this newfound attention came a realization that he was now more of a role model. Morales hopes to lead his children down the right path while accomplishing his goals.
“This is why I do these things. I don’t fight for money, I fight for the glory of it. I want to show that I am one of the best fighters in the world. And for him to be proud of me no matter what.”
“I want to show him how to go after his goals. He says he wants to be a professional athlete. I gotta lead by example.
Morales has another chance to make his family proud on Saturday, when he faces Matt Schnell in his UFC debut. ‘Bopo’ gave a lot of respect to his opponent and sees the fight as the perfect opportunity to grant another one of his son’s wishes.
“He’s dangerous everywhere; his striking is great. Every fight he’s been in is a bloody mess.”
“My oldest son has been bugging me for a bloody fight since I left the show. He’s kinda been on my a** about it. He’s like, ‘you gotta make ’em bleed.’
“He was upset that I didn’t have any blood in any of my fights on the show. As long as I’m not the one bleeding, I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Joseph Morales above. He faces Matt Schnell at UFC Fight Vegas 111 on Saturday night.
