Some MMA scandals don’t need punching, just numbers. One record change and suddenly everyone’s debating online as if the sport is fought on spreadsheets. That’s essentially what happened after Michael Morales continued to steamroll welterweights, with his undefeated status becoming part of what makes him feel so dangerous.

However, that aura was suddenly shaken as Tapology brought Morales’ unblemished record into question by unearthing an old reality-show fight from Ecuador, and it quickly set timelines ablaze. Fans reacted, accusations flew, and the argument devolved quickly into the question of what counts as “professional.” Tapology eventually reversed its position… But the drama didn’t just go away. It spread, and it caught Khabib Nurmagomedov in the crossfire.

Tapology drags Khabib Nurmagomedov into the Michael Morales debate

As criticism piled up, for some reason, Tapology decided to respond with some sarcasm, and honestly, it landed. When asked to take a look at Khabib Nurmagomedov’s earlier career wins against people with almost zero fights in the past, the website decided to go all out with the response.

They wrote on X, “Good idea. We will send our team to Agvali, Dagestan, and start asking serious questions about who allowed 4-0 Khabib to be matched against 1-0 Eldar Eldarov in August 2009. Because it stinks of being Number 1 Bulls—. We will report back promptly.”

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Tapology’s point was simple: people are pretending as if strange matchmaking is unique to Michael Morales, whereas MMA has always had uncomfortable early-career record-building.

Behind the jokes was the real argument: there’s nothing to look into unless someone claims something illegal occurred, like the opponents intentionally lost or manipulated the fights. Otherwise, it is simply a case of a fighter gaining experience with some easy fights early on.

Tapology also addressed the technical aspects of the Morales debate: the fight format. Some fans believed that two-round fights and certain restrictions should automatically prevent a bout from being classified as professional. However, the website didn’t agree.

According to them, they already have 30,700 pro fights listed as 2×5 minutes. They even allow 3×3 bouts to be counted. So, unless there is a question about the legitimacy of the fight, it will be allowed to be added to Tapology’s fighter record. Finally, Tapology’s decision to reverse the Morales call showed their flexibility, as they realized it was unfair to judge an older reality-show setup using stricter modern rules.

But their overall message remained consistent: mismatches happen, odd formats happen, and records aren’t always clean. And once fans begin scrutinizing one fighter’s resume, it’s just a matter of time before the microscope shifts to everyone else—including Khabib Nurmagomedov. But what was their first argument when they decided to give Michael Morales his first MMA loss?

What led to the number-four-ranked welterweight’s unfortunate record change?

Tapology’s stance didn’t come from nowhere. Their initial choice to give Michael Morales a loss was based on one simple principle: if the rules look like pro MMA, it’s counted like pro MMA, even if the setting is a reality show. Tapology stated that Morales competed on Ecuador’s Ultima Pelea at 17 and 18 and that the structure met their requirements.

They wrote, “The rules and structure of the fights meet our criteria of professional MMA. Many of the competitors were established professionals, including Ricardo Centeno, who beat him.”

When Tapology categorized the event as an actual competition rather than an exhibition, the record change for Michael Morales was all but inevitable. And the clip of the defeat on social media only poured gasoline on the situation.

Morales was put to sleep soon after getting caught in a triangle and taking shots while trapped. But seeing that it was a reality TV fight, Michael Morales expressed his anger online, saying on Instagram, “I’ll punch injustice right in the face. F— you, Tapology.”

That criticism, along with the reality-show framework, eventually compelled Tapology to back down.