Joseph Morales did what many didn’t expect. The 30-year-old pulled off an upset victory over Alibi Idiris to kick off the UFC 319 preliminary card. Despite entering as the underdog, Morales started aggressively against the previously undefeated prospect. Right from the beginning, he used his grappling to out-wrestle Idiris and nearly locked in a submission!

Morales’ body punches were doing the job, but Idiris attempted a spinning attack in the second round, which caused his downfall. Morales quickly took Idiris’ back, but then lost the position. Yet, he went to work from the bottom, throwing up a triangle choke that ended the fight. With that win, Morales became the newest The Ultimate Fighter 33 flyweight champion. But the loss hit Idiris hard…

It prompted his coach, Daniel Cormier, to step away from the commentary desk to comfort his fighter. ‘MMA Junkie’ captured the heartfelt moment, posting, “Daniel Cormier comforts Alibi Idiris after falling short of the TUF 33 crown.” In the clip, Cormier is seen embracing Idiris right outside the cage, offering comfort to the disheartened fighter.

But just over an hour later, Chael Sonnen—who coached Morales—took to X with a playful jab at Cormier: “Daniel n’ me are BROS
-But everybody KNOWS -When that cage door CLOSE -Pal, you got to GO.” However, Cormier can only blame himself. It turns out, he had the first pick at TUF and could have chosen his fellow Northern California resident. Instead, he chose LFA champ Eduardo ‘Chapolin’ Henrique as his initial pick, and that allowed Sonnen to pick Morales as the first member of his team.

Notably, the welterweight finale between Daniil Donchenko and Rodrigo Sezinando was scrapped due to injury to the latter, leaving Morales as the only fighter to claim a TUF 33 crown at UFC 319.

Regardless, this turned out well for Morales, who got a second opportunity to showcase his abilities in the UFC. He competed in the promotion from 2017 to 2018, where he went 1-2 during his initial appearance. He had faced Roberto Sanchez, Deiveson Figueiredo, and Eric Shelton.

His latest win gave Sonnen ultimate bragging rights, which he is clearly using after his team member won the finale. And in the aftermath, Morales had the experts buzzing about his performance.

Henry Cejudo joins Chael Sonnen in the celebrations 

Right after the fight concluded and Morales became the TUF 33 flyweight champion, former bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo took to X, sharing his reaction. “Joseph Morales is The Ultimate Fighter! What a dominant and complete performance,” he wrote. And he wasn’t alone in thinking that, as others praised Morales’ dominance. 

Journalist Nick Baldwin chimed in, writing, “Triangle choke!!! Joseph Morales is The Ultimate Fighter. What a performance.” Adding to the praise, reporter Nolan King highlighted Morales’ comeback in the UFC. “Joseph Morales dominates Alibi Idiris taps him with a SLICK triangle to become the #TUF33 flyweight winner. It took him seven years to return to the UFC, but here he is!”

Morales had entered the cage with a lot of experience. He had the advantage of prior octagon experience, unlike Idiris, who was stepping onto the UFC stage for the first time. So while Alibi Idiris licks his wounds after his first career loss, Joseph Morales is celebrating his strong comeback to the UFC, and that too as the TUF 33 flyweight champion. What did you think about the fight?