Michael Morales’s tattoos cover much of his upper body: an eye with fine rays on his right chest, black work across his neck, red accents among the arm pieces and a large back composition. Newer photos show an anime figure on his left chest; earlier ones show a feather there.

His collection has changed across the photos. Official portraits, fight shots and a work-in-progress image show different angles and stages, so no single photo gives the full picture.

Morales is an Ecuadorian welterweight from Pasaje in El Oro. UFC’s career account traces his route through regional competition to a September 2021 Contender Series win. The designs are visible, but he hasn’t publicly explained the meaning of every piece.

The Eye Chest Tattoo and Neck Pattern

The eye sits on Morales’s right chest inside a circle of pointed shapes and fine rays. Its shaded pupil and eyelids look more realistic than the sharp lines around them; the rays leave open skin between each mark, so the design stays clear even from an angle.

Above it, heavier black work rises from beneath his jaw toward both collarbones. Curved sections flank a point that drops toward the sternum, and the number 22 is worked into the front of the design.

The neck pattern is symmetrical; the chest pieces aren’t. At the right shoulder, small hexagons lead into the sleeve. Their straight edges, the neck’s dark curves and the eye’s fine lines give each area its own texture.

Red Roses and Inner-Arm Lettering

A fight photo with Morales’s left arm extended shows the inside of the sleeve. A red rose sits near the elbow bend, while the name Katty runs in broad script along the inner upper arm toward the wrist. The lettering follows the curve of his arm, and the petals mix red and black shading.

Other red work appears in an older portrait: roses along the right side of his torso beneath the chest tattoo, plus a bold red mark near the right elbow. These accents sit among black-and-gray pieces rather than forming one continuous colored sleeve.

The view changes with the pose. When his arms are down, the outer-arm designs are more prominent; with his left arm stretched out, the rose and name come into view. The photos show different sides of the same collection.

The Mask and Geometric Sleeve

The side-on fight photo shows the outside of Morales’s left arm: repeated block-like shapes over the shoulder, a dark face or mask with red accents, a pointed geometric rosette on the forearm and the surname Morales in bold lettering.

The sleeve moves between straight edges, shaded curves and radiating petal shapes. Small gaps of skin separate parts of the forearm pattern, while the red around the mask makes it stand apart from the darker work.

The surname wraps around the arm, so some letters are clearer than others as his wrist turns; the glove hides the lower end. The photo shows placement and detail, but not the sleeve as a flat, complete image. It also doesn’t establish a cultural or personal meaning for the geometric forms.

How the Chest Collection Changed

In an older fight photo, Morales has the eye on his right chest and a long, curved feather on his left. Red shading sits inside the feather’s dark outline, above the nipple; the neck design runs between the two chest pieces.

A newer official portrait shows an anime character with flowing hair and green details in that left-chest area. Metro Ecuador identified him as Tanjiro Kamado from Demon Slayer in September 2025.

The pictures show that the visible design changed, but they don’t explain how the newer tattoo was planned around the feather or whether it covers earlier ink. The older action shot also shows the eye’s rays remain easy to pick out while Morales is moving and turned away from the camera.

The Full Back Tattoo

The back photo records a session in progress: Morales is face down as several artists work, with dark shading in some areas and open outlines in others. It isn’t a healed view, so unfinished sections shouldn’t be read as blank spaces in the final design.

A large bearded figure with muscular arms fills the center, with a canine below and broad ornamental and geometric forms near the shoulders. El Comercio linked the imagery to Heracles, also known as Hercules, and the two-headed dog Orthrus. That is the newspaper’s interpretation, not a personal explanation from Morales.

Shading gives the figures depth while heavier outlines frame the larger composition. The process photo captures the work being built; it can’t show exactly how every section looks when finished.

The UFC interview below shows Morales speaking after his UFC 322 bout.