Jordan Morales welcomes revamp after three-fight skid
Jordan Morales [7-5] can only go up from here.
Barbarian Combat Sports closed its doors in 2018 after he spent over 10 years training there. The 12-fight veteran is also coming off three-consecutive losses, the longest losing streak of his career.
On top of all that, three potential bouts were canceled. His luck in his professional boxing career proved to be lacking as well. He won one match in the span of three years, plus had two bouts canceled.
“It was very hard,” Morales said.
“Boxing is one thing, but MMA was a real disappointment, that’s my sport.”
The 30-year-old’s most recent defeat stands out the most. Morales lost by split decision to Kenny Richmond at CFFC 79 on Nov. 16, 2019.
It marked Morales’ first fight under his new gym, Bloomsburg MMA. He only trained at the facility for three weeks before fighting Richmond.
“I should have never taken my last fight. I paid for it within the first 30 seconds, the guy kicked my knee out and I couldn’t walk the rest of the fight,” Morales said. “After this last fight, I told myself, I’m not taking a fight unless I have a full camp and comfortable in this new gym.”
The old days
The Pennsylvania native trained close to 11 years under a 25-time UFC veteran in Boetsch. The gym was on-and-off since 2017, but officially closed in 2018.
Morales continued to train there behind closed doors until he found a new home in 2019. He went from training in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, to going to Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania.
While training under Boetsch, Morales finished 7-2 with his only losses coming to Bellator MMA’s Ricky Bandejas and UFC’s Jordan Espinosa. He won the PA Cage Fight bantamweight strap while with Boetsch, defeating Chris Piriz by unanimous decision in April 2017.
Morales lost the belt in a decision loss to UFC’s Tony Gravely in 2017. It’s the first bout of a three-fight losing streak.
“I got three losses from not properly training,” Morales said. “When I have proper training, I should have not lost to the people I lost to.”
Getting comfortable
Morales wants a June return, but is skeptical with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. He is more comfortable at Bloomsburg MMA after spending five months training there.
Even some of Morales’ old training partners made the move over from Barbarian. It’s a different environment compared to Barbarian, but one Morales is enjoying.
“With Tim, I got to train with guys who were in the UFC or that were in higher fight organizations,” Morales said. “Now that I’m at Blooms MMA, I like teaching.
“When you’re training with UFC fighters, a lot of the time it’s brutal, which I like. At the same time, this is a little more calm, I think I’m actually learning more.”
A new beginning
The year 2020 is off to a rough start with the pandemic, but Morales is determined after losing two bouts and having three others canceled in 2019.
He is not living in the past, waiting to establish himself under Bloomsburg MMA. He may have gone down after a three-fight skid, but Morales is far from out.
“When I get back into the cage, it’s going to be the old Jordan,” Morales said. “I’m doing MMA to win, I’m doing it for my career.”
