Preview: UFC Fight Night 243 Prelims

Bantamweights

Taylor Lapilus (20-4, 5-2 UFC) vs. Vince Morales (16-7, 3-5 UFC)

ODDS: Lapilus (-355), Morales (+280)

Morales’ return to the UFC has been well-earned and a nice surprise. Signed in 2018, Morales was typically a tough out but struggled to find much consistent success in the UFC, even though his record now looks much better in retrospect. Yadong Song, Chris Gutierrez, Jonathan Martinez and Miles Johns have all moved up considerably since their respective wins over “Vandetta.” Even adjusting for that, Morales still had some clear issues with his game. He’s a sharp puncher who prefers to counter and has to overcome some slow starts, which would often lead to Morales being unable to dig himself out of a hole once he finally found his timing. Those flaws still exist, even with Morales racking up five straight wins in the two years since his last trip to the Octagon. He has made things count a lot more once he hits a groove. Beyond having a bit more power, Morales has done well to mix in some wrestling and grappling, finding three crafty submission wins among those last five fights. With all that said, while Morales’ second UFC stint should go better than the first, he gets a tough assignment for his UFC return against Lapilus. It’s still unclear why Lapilus left the UFC coming off a win in 2016 or why it took the UFC half a decade to bring him back, but the Frenchman has been a consistently solid fighter the entire way through. Blessed with a long reach, Lapilus is content to pick his opponents apart from range for three rounds. It might not be the most exciting approach at times, but Lapilus continues to put together wins and get sharper, both with his strikes and the takedown defense necessary to make his style work. Wrestlers can still slow down Lapilus at times, but that figures to be a moot point here, as both men should look to strike. Lapilus should be athletic enough to outmaneuver the UFC returnee for three rounds. The pick is Lapilus via decision.

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