5 Best Marlon Moraes performances in the UFC
Former UFC bantamweight title challenger Marlon Moraes feels that his career has come to a close and retired from the sport of MMA. 1-5 in his last 6, 'Magic' lost all 5 by way of KO/TKO. As unattractive as that looks on paper, they were all against top competition and the 33-year-old had found success in most of these showings.
Marlon Moraes announces his retirement from mixed martial arts (@DamonMartin) mmafighting.com/2022/4/13/2302… https://t.co/PRChlSkuMg
Although things weren't going his way, the Brazilian has fought the who's who of the division and accrued some highly-touted names under his win column. The 33-year-old Moraes could very well return to action at some point, but a break is absolutely fair for him to give himself. But if this is it for his career, fans and fighters alike should thank 'Magic' for the performances he put on in the octagon and the risks that he's always taken against the top of the heap.
The heavy-handed fighter did all but capture the belt. There's no shame in this, especially not when realizing how close he really was to holding the belt. Thank you, Marlon Moraes, for the battles and the entertainment given to the fans. Following his retirement, here are the 5 best Marlon Moraes performances in the UFC.
#5. Henry Cejudo
Although the fight didn't end with his hand raised, Marlon Moraes started with guns blazing and had the Olympian and flyweight champion in some hot water. Henry Cejudo grabbed the flyweight title by defeating Demetrious Johnson and in his first defense, took on bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw. Had Dillashaw won, the flyweight division may have been dissolved.
Henry Cejudo broke Marlon Moraes! 😱
Olympic champion ✔️
UFC champion ✔️
UFC champ champ 🏆🏆
A sensational comeback win, what a performance! #UFC238 https://t.co/1eGfNyNkSg
Cejudo had other plans, however, as he handily defeated the then-bantamweight champion in just 32-seconds. Dillashaw vacated his bantamweight title after this loss and news of him failing a drug test followed. This opened up the 135lb division. Who better to challenge for the belt than Henry Cejudo and Marlon Moraes, who was riding a 4-fight win streak?
As the fight began, Moraes found great success with his low kicks. Presumably, he wanted to land these to slow down the smaller but faster fighter, and land them he did. Low kicks set up his hands, which also proved to be rather effective in the early goings as well. The flyweight champion was tougher than many expected; he weathered the storm and pounced on a gassed-out Moraes whenever the onslaught began to wither. In this loss, the Brazilian gave Cejudo one of his toughest fights.