Marlon Vera finally has another fellow Ecuadorian making noise in the UFC, Michael Morales. The 25-year-old has been on an absolute tear at the moment, with an undefeated 17-0 record—12 KOs and 1 submission win. Morales has been steadily rising, currently placed #12 in the welterweight rankings. But perhaps his biggest challenge is coming up this weekend against seasoned veteran Gilbert Burns.

This weekend’s UFC Vegas 106 is special for Michael Morales not just because he’s stepping up in the level of competition, but also headlining his first UFC event ever. Having been placed in such a spot, one must wonder how the financial side of things has been for the 25-year-old as an MMA fighter. Well, here’s what we know on that front.

Michael Morales’ net worth & endorsements

Michael Morales may be in his mid-20s, but he’s got more fights under his belt than older MMA fighters. Yes, he’s been quite active even during the early phase of his career. After venturing into the professional MMA space, Morales has reportedly amassed a net worth of under $500,000, according to certain sources. However, the numbers could differ as of today.

Well, Morales is a relatively young man and will need some time before he gets his net worth over a million dollars, and to get there, his endorsements will play a vital role. As we all know, Michael Morales, much like others, receives bonuses for the official fight gear worn through Dana White‘s promotion’s deal with Venum. Apart from that, the 17-0 up-and-comer also gets sponsored by Enteram Gym, based in Tijuana, Mexico, where he trains.

Michael Morales may have some other sponsorship deals, but there’s currently no information regarding that available in the public domain. So, now let’s turn to another aspect of the Ecuadorian welterweight’s financial details, which is the salary he receives in the UFC.

UFC payouts: How much salary does Michael Morales earn?

Michael Morales rose to fame in the UFC via Dana White’s Contender Series, but reports about the much he got paid for that one fight remain unknown. But we do have details about his UFC debut payout at UFC 270. According to MMA Salaries, Morales took home a total of $24,000, which included a $10,000 base salary. For his next fight at UFC 277, he took $44,000 as his payout.

When it comes to the 25-year-old’s biggest UFC payout, Michael Morales made $54,000 at UFC Vegas 96, according to certain sources, after beating Neil Magny. We could also add $50,000 to that payout since he also received his first UFC ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus. Now that Morales is making his way into a main event, he’s more or less going to make more than $100,000, to say the least.

And things will look much better for Michael Morales if he can get on the winning side this weekend. Gilbert Burns by no means is an easy opponent, and in case anyone doubts that, ask Khamzat Chimaev. Meanwhile, let us know your thoughts and predictions for UFC Fight Night 256 in the comments down below.