Vince Morales won't let 'rare' 2nd UFC stint slip away

Vince Morales received a FaceTime call from his manager, Jason House, as he pulled into his garage on Sept. 17. It was a little over two weeks since his last fight, and Morales was just getting home from a training session at Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas. House wanting a video call with him was a bit odd, Morales thought, so maybe he'd have some good news. He did.

House asked the bantamweight two questions: how his weight was and if he wanted to go to Paris in a week.

Nearly two years after being released from the UFC, Morales is set to return to the promotion for a second stint Saturday at the UFC's Fight Night event in Paris, where he'll face Taylor Lapilus on 11 days' notice.

Morales didn't hesitate when he found out about the offer to re-sign with the world's biggest MMA promotion. After all, that FaceTime call is what he'd been waiting for - or, as Morales puts it, working toward - since his exit in January 2023.

But there was no over-the-top celebration. As soon as Morales heard the good news, he was laser-focused on the task at hand.

"I realized (House) was FaceTiming me because he wanted to see my reaction," Morales told theScore. "But I kind of zeroed in. I was like, 'OK, cool, it's time to go to work.'"

Morales will step into the Octagon this weekend for the first time since November 2022, when he lost a decision to Miles Johns on the undercard of a forgettable Apex event that featured a short-notice headliner between Kennedy Nzechukwu and Ion Cutelaba. The backdrop for Morales' comeback bout couldn't be more different: He'll be fighting in front of 15,000 rowdy French fans at the Accor Arena, all of them rooting for their native son Lapilus to beat him. Still, it'll be a breath of fresh air compared to a quiet warehouse on the outskirts of Las Vegas.

Morales went 1-3 at the Apex, including the fight against Johns. That night, he suffered his second consecutive loss, ending a 3-5 run with the UFC that began in 2018.

Morales sensed that would be it for him in the UFC, but he was still heartbroken when the dreaded pink slip appeared in his inbox. (To add to the misery, Morales got the news as he was starting a workout at the UFC Performance Institute. He said he left because it felt weird being there.) Morales had spent years trying to get to the UFC and "make it" as an MMA fighter, so it was understandably disappointing for that chapter of his life to pass him by in the blink of an eye. And most fighters will tell you that second chances don't come around often in this line of work.

But rather than let his release discourage him and derail his career, Morales used it as fuel to eventually get back to the UFC. And in the 19 months he spent away from the Octagon, the 33-year-old has never looked better.

Morales returned to the regional circuit - competing for organizations such as Rizin FF and XMMA - and won five straight fights, an impressive streak punctuated by a rare Peruvian necktie submission victory over fellow UFC veteran Hunter Azure in August.

"For me, it lit a fire," Morales said of having to go back to the local scene and prove himself again. "I think my parents, for instance, or casual fans, they look at that as a giant step down. But I looked at it as an opportunity to go and perfect my craft."

If Morales has learned anything about himself through all of this, it's that he's a "stubborn bastard." And that characteristic, Morales said, is what guided him to another shot at the big leagues in a sport where most athletes' first chance is their last.

"For whatever reason, when I got cut, I gained confidence," Morales said. "I was like, 'I understand now why I got cut. That's unacceptable.' I doubled down on myself. I just had a lot of faith that I'd be able to pull it off."

What's the biggest difference between the Vince Morales of 2018-22 and the Vince Morales of today? He isn't worried as much about the results. Sure, he wants to win fights and succeed - or else he'll end up back outside the UFC in no time. But the distinction from his first UFC stint to his second, Morales said, is that he's no longer going in there trying his hardest not to lose.

The evidence shows that it has worked out for him so far. Now, he just has to prove it on the UFC stage.

"I feel more free," Morales said. "Whatever happens with a fight, I'm not in there trying to win like I was. The win takes care of itself. The losses, whatever. I'm getting in there to fight and put on a show and do my thing.

"I'm super stoked I'm getting the opportunity because it is really rare. And I'll be damned if I let this slip between my fingers again."