Lapilus vs Morales

Who won Lapilus vs Morales?

Taylor Lapilus beat Vince Morales by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the prelims of UFC Fight Night, on Saturday 28th September 2024 at Accor Arena in Paris.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner Taylor Lapilus.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Bantamweight division, which meant the weight limit was 135 pounds (9.6 stone or 61.2 KG).

Lapilus vs Morales stats

Taylor Lapilus stepped into the octagon with a record of 20 wins, 4 losses and 0 draws, 4 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 6 by submission.

Vince Morales made his way to the cage with a record of 14 wins, 7 losses and 0 draws, 7 of those wins coming by knock out and 3 by submission.

This was Taylor Lapilus' 8th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2015. Vince Morales marked his 11th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2018.

Taylor Lapilus' UFC record stood at 6-2-0, while Vince Morales' came in at 3-8-0.

The stats suggested Morales had a large advantage in power over Lapilus, boasting a 50% knock out percentage over Lapilus' 20%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Lapilus had a slight advantage over Morales, with a 30% submission rate over Morales' 21%.

Taylor Lapilus was the younger man by 1 year, at 33 years old.

Morales had a height advantage of 1 inch over Lapilus. Despite this, he had a 5-inch reach advantage.

Lapilus was arguably the more experienced fighter, having had 3 more fights, and made his debut in 2012, 3 years and 1 month earlier than Morales, whose first professional fight was in 2015. He had fought 2 less professional rounds, 60 to Morales' 62.

Lapilus vs Morales form

Morales had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Yuki Motoya at RIZIN 45 on 31st December 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.

Previous to that, he had lost to Miles Johns at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivak on 19th November 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Jonathan Martinez at UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Vieira on 21st May 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had beaten Louis Smolka at UFC Fight Night on 4th December 2021 by knockout in the 1st round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

He had defeated Drako Rodriguez at UFC 265 on 7th August 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Toyota Center, Houston.

Activity check

Lapilus' last 3 fights had come over a period of 1 year, 8 months and 5 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 6 months and 23 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 9 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

Morales' last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years and 9 months, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months. In those fights, he fought a total of 13 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.6 rounds on average.

What time did Lapilus vs Morales start?

The fighters were expected to walk out at around 5:40 PM UTC , which was 1:40 PM EST or 10:40 AM PST on the West Coast of America, or 6:40 PM BST in the UK.

What were the odds on Lapilus vs Morales?

Taylor Lapilus was a 7/25 (-360) favourite going into the contest, while Vince Morales made his way into the ring at 11/4 (+280) with oddsmakers.