“Demitri’s one of the hardest-working athletes we’ve had in our gym,” Austin Arnett said. “He’s someone who’s completely dedicated himself to the sport; he’s all-in. A lot of guys, they kind of are doing it as a hobby. Demitri’s been all-in for the UFC or bust — that’s his goal.
“He’s very committed and ready to go after the dream.”
A tough test
Today’s fight will represent Morales’ return to action after a year-and-a-half layoff resulting from factors like the cancellation of one planned fight and time off taken to retool and develop his style.
“He’s leveled up so much from what he was then, it’s going to be an eye-opener for anyone that’s followed his career,” Arnett said. “My dad came from a striking background, and that’s what (Morales) was molded to be. That’s what we continued to build off of him with.
“Now, we’ve developed his wrestling, his jiu-jitsu — we’ve started building him up to make him a complete all-around fighter.”
Arnett predicted that Morales will have a significant challenge on his hands from the experienced Stirewalt (6-7), who turned professional in 2018 and has faced opponents with winning records in nine of his 13 contests since, including four who entered the contests undefeated.
“(Stirewalt is) a very good fighter,” Arnett said. “He’s very skilled; he doesn’t have the best record, but he’s a lot better than what his record shows. He’s fought really, really stiff competition. From, like, his first fight, he was fighting guys that were undefeated, and he’s never not fought top-level guys.”
Still, Arnett holds that Morales has put in the work and built the skillset he needs to carry the day and take a step toward the bigtime.
“I think it’s a really tough test for Demitri, and that’s why I’m excited,” Arnett said. “I think Demitri will be able to rise to the occasion. The better the opponent, the higher the stakes, I think Demitri’s skills will show out even better.”