Albert Morales was 20, in jail, and had just missed the birth of his first daughter when it happened.

“A guard, I guess, messed up and let the fights on on TV,” Morales told MMAjunkie. “Whether that was a sign from the MMA gods or not, man – but I saw it. I decided I was going to be a fighter, and that was it.”

Morales didn’t know much about MMA. He had seen some of “The Ultimate Fighter” – including the memorable Season 1 tournament final between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar. He knew about Diego Sanchez and Joe “Daddy” Stevenson. He had some videogames about it. His stepfather even practiced Brazilian jiu-jitsu at the Gracie Academy.

“But I was too involved in the streets to think about martial arts or anything like that,” Morales said. “Talk about bad kids – I was a pretty bad kid. (My stepfather) didn’t want to show (jiu-jitsu) to me because he thought I would use it in the streets and hurt somebody and stuff. So he kind of kept that away from me.”

On Sunday Morales (7-1-1 MMA, 1-1-1 UFC) meets fellow bantamweight Brett Johns (13-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in what will be his fourth UFC outing, at UFC Fight Night 113. At 26, he’s made a career that allows him to live in a nice home with his wife and two daughters. He can afford the Jordans he longed for as a kid, and even help those who haven’t been as fortunate.

“Honestly, MMA really gave me an opportunity at life,” Morales said.

But when Morales used visitation day to inform his family about his new plan, he had no idea what it would take to get here. He didn’t know about amateur fights. He didn’t know about building a record and making his way up the ranks. He didn’t know the UFC didn’t just happen once you started training.

He just knew he needed to get his life together.

“My mom was like, ‘Dude, get a job. Do something normal. You’ve never had a job. How about get a job first?'” Morales said. “My wife was, ‘I have no idea what that is, but as long as it keeps you out of jail, we’re good.’ Mind you, I’d just had my daughter.

“She was born while I was incarcerated. So that was a big thing. My father wasn’t really around when I was growing up, so I really wanted to be around for my daughter. As soon as I missed her birth, my whole life came crashing down.”

Six months later, 10 days before his 21st birthday, Morales was released from jail. On May 25, he legally drank his first beer. Five days after that, he signed up to train at Elite Training Center.

“Literally, it took like 15 days to start my MMA journey after my release date,” Morales said.

‘I guess, subconsciously, I felt that I was there already’

Things moved pretty quickly after that. A year into training, Morales made his debut on the amateur circuit, where he put together a 3-1 record. Nine months later, Morales went pro – with the big Bellator stage already as his first home. He finished his first four opponents and was off to a 6-0 start with fights at both 135 and 145 pounds.

It was almost as if fighting was in his blood.

“I’d been a fighter since birth, and I think that comes from my mom,” Morales said. “(She’s) just being tough as nails. And that comes from my grandma. She’s even tougher. I just have a tough family.”

Less than two years into his then-unblemished professional career, a knockout win over Mario Israel at an RFA event stamped Morales’ ticket to the UFC. He didn’t lose his UFC Fight Night 94 octagon debut – but didn’t win it either; he fought Alejandro Perez to a majority draw.

Two months later, Morales met Thomas Almeida at UFC Fight Night 100. The setup was not ideal. Not only was he facing one the division’s rising killers, he went all the way to Almeida’s hometown to co-headline what was supposed to be his foe’s recovery fight after a loss to Cody Garbrandt. Morales was knocked out in the second round.

Despite the rough start, being in the UFC changed Morales’ life. And that later proved to be a double-edged sword. “The Warrior” could now afford to move his family from a “hole in the wall” to a nice apartment. He’d made it to the big time. He was, finally, comfortable.

But, as it turns out, there is such a thing as too comfortable.

“(Before), there was a need for me to get out of that situation,” Morales said. “There was a need for me to get to the UFC. There was a need. And, in my head, I still felt that I was hungry and all that stuff.

“But I guess, subconsciously, I felt that I was there already. ‘I’m in the UFC. I’m that guy. All the guys that started before me, I’ve already surpassed them.’ I guess, subconsciously, I get a little relaxed.”

Getting Morales back on track was a team effort. First, it was his coach’s wife – who also happens to be a psychiatrist – who noticed that something was off about Morales when they were all just hanging out and watching fights. And the coach, who’d witnessed the changes in his pupils’ demeanor in the gym, agreed.

Now, all he had to do was find a way to get it through to Morales.

“Growing up, I loved shoes,” Morales said. “I couldn’t afford shoes. Especially Jordans. I would see kids, and I’d envy them. I wanted Jordans, but my mom couldn’t afford to get me them. I got signed to the UFC, so what do you think I did? I bought some Jordans.

“I was so busy thinking about other things, and (my coach) was like, ‘You’re such a leader, and you don’t even know it. Guys at the gym never talked about shoes. But now, all of a sudden, you talking about shoes, everybody wants to talk about shoes.’ He broke it down. ‘People are looking at you. And you don’t even know it.'”

‘I can’t imagine how good I’m going to be by the end of this year’

That clicked. On his manager’s advice, Morales started reading Tim S. Grover’s “Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable” for lessons in excellence and leadership. And in came what Morales calls “the big mindset change.” The rekindled fire showed in training, which was also fueled by the addition of strength and conditioning.

It also showed on Morales’ record. Less than four months after the loss to Almeida – which, in case you’re wondering, Morales is still dead-set in getting back – he took on Andre Soukhamthath on short notice to earn his first UFC win. And it’s also what he intends to do against Johns on Sunday at SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland. Their bout closes out the UFC Fight Pass early prelims before the rest of the card shifts to FS1.

As far as that matchup goes, Morales is happy. He thinks the undefeated Johns, while experienced “in his realm,” is a little one-dimensional and presents favorable “tendencies.” But, in any case, it’s not like the guy across the cage mattered when Morales said yes to yet another last-minute call.

“The mindset of this training camp has been phenomenal that we feel like it could have been anybody in the world,” Morales said. “It could’ve been Dominick Cruz, it could have been any of these guys, and we would have taken this fight.”

While Morales doesn’t really see a win over Johns as a career-booster, Sunday’s encounter does carry some considerable weight: It’s the last one on his current UFC contract. And, when you’re holding a somewhat peculiar 1-1-1 record, that means something.

But, just because Morales is aware of the stakes, it doesn’t mean he’s any less confident about what his octagon future holds.

“I expect to get the belt within one or two years,” Morales said. “I’m growing at a rapid pace, and I’ve only been training for about four of five years. I feel I’ve grown rapidly, but I’ve never had the mental state that I am right now.

“So I can’t imagine how good I’m going to be by the end of this year. And then the next year. I expect to climb these ladders pretty quick.”

As grateful as he is for all the doors that MMA has opened, Morales does not want to be doing it forever. In fact, the 26-year-old is quite specific in saying that he doesn’t not want to be doing it past 35.

“I feel like after fighting, there’s more to life,” Morales said.

What’s this “more” he speaks of? Morales even struggles to articulate. He wants to give back. He wants to help. He wants to lead. He knows his plans – immediate and distant – are big. Maybe too big for words.

“As long as I realize that I want something more than just the belt,” Morales said. “I want to help a lot of people. I want to do things that nobody’s ever done before. I want to help the community. I want to do a lot of things like that.

“So, as long as I know my goal is almost unattainable, everything underneath is going to come. Winning the belt is going to come. Breaking records is going to come. Because I know I’m working hard for something that’s almost unattainable.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 113, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.