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Morales has earned a pair of victories in each of his first two years on the UFC roster, posting stoppage wins over Trevin Giles and Adam Fugitt during his rookie campaign before collecting unanimous decision nods over veterans Max Griffin and Jake Matthews last year as a sophomore.

In doing so, the native of Ecuador has elevated his record to 16-0 overall, which situates him between Shavkat Rakhmonov (17-0) and Ian Machado Garry (15-0) in the roll call of unbeaten UFC welterweights at the moment. But while his unbeaten contemporaries have already ascended to contender status, Morales is still working his way there, with Saturday’s clash against Neil Magny serving as the next hurdle for him to clear in order to join Rakhmononv and Machado Garry in the rankings.

Magny has the most wins in the history of the UFC welterweight division and has quite literally made a living serving in this role over the last several years, having faced off with both Rakhmonov and Machado Garry, while also pausing the ascent of other hopefuls like Geoff Neal, Phil Rowe, and Mike Malott. Rangy and durable, the 37-year-old Colorado native is a perfect measuring stick for any emerging talent in the 170-pound weight class and the correct opponent for Morales to be facing at this time.

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Coming off his win on Season 5 of Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS), it was clear that Morales had an abundance of upside but needed to time to grow into his frame and tighten up his skills. Over these first two years on the roster, he’s done just that, filling out physically while showing greater poise and patience inside the Octagon, maintaining his unbeaten record as he’s continued to work forward in the division.

Still not quite at the outset of what is generally considered one’s physical prime, it’s going to be interesting to see how Morales handles this next challenge.

He’s backed by a terrific team at Entram Gym in Tijuana and has passed every test with flying colors thus far, but Magny is as game and savvy as they come. This is the fight that will indicate whether the 25-year-old talent is ready to climb into the rankings and continue pushing towards the top of the division or still requires a little more seasoning, but regardless of how it plays out, Morales will remain one to keep close tabs on going forward.

Robert Valentin

No one made a bigger impact during this most recent season of The Ultimate Fighter than Valentin, the 29-year-old Swiss middleweight set to face off with American Ryan Loder in the tournament finals on Saturday.

In addition to blowing through Giannis Bachar in 15 seconds with a devastating elbow and submitting teammate Paddy McCorry with a keylock with his legs from the scarf position, Valentin also took on an active coaching role with Team Grasso, running mitt sessions and providing his teammates with valuable support and cornering throughout the season.

Prior to arriving in Las Vegas to take part in the reality TV competition, Valentin had amassed a 10-3 record as a professional, with all but one of his wins coming inside the distance. He’s won three straight and is unbeaten in his last five, while having primarily faced quality opposition on the regional circuit, including Cage Warriors title challenger Djati Melan and current UFC light heavyweight Ibo Aslan.

What makes Valentin such an intriguing addition to the 185-pound ranks is the diversity of attacks and dynamic finishing ability he brings to the Octagon.

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Against Bachar, he needed just a single, driving lead elbow to put him down, while his finish of McCorry came as he was forced to grapple after getting clipped by the Irish prospect. The ability to make those reads and attack in the most effective manner, even when scrambling a little, is something you cannot teach, and the rune-covered competitor clearly has it in spades.

Loder is a stern test for the aggressive finisher — a former Division-I All-American at Northern Iowa and four-time NCAA tournament qualifier who made quick work of Canadian Tommy Theocharis in the quarterfinals before out-hustling Omran Chaaban to punch his ticket to the finale. Training with the squad at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, he will assuredly be well-prepared to make the walk this weekend and push Valentin to his limits.

Middleweight is one of those divisions where promising newcomers often have an opportunity to scale the ranks quickly, as we’ve seen with DWCS grads Brendan Allen, Joe Pyfer, and Bo Nickal, and another impressive stoppage could put “Robzilla” on the fast track to stardom in the UFC.