Sarah Moras (6-5 MMA, 3-4 UFC) will look to break into the top-15 of the UFC women’s bantamweight division at UFC Jacksonville on May 13. “Cheesecake” will take on Sijara Eubanks (4-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC), who’s currently the 15th-ranked bantamweight.
“I like the match-up. She’s good,” Moras told MMASucka. “Everyone in the UFC is pretty good. She comes out strong; I come out strong. I think she’s a blackbelt on the ground. I’ve been doing Jiu-Jitsu forever it seems. I think it’s a great match-up.”
Should Moras defeat Eubanks, it’ll put her into the top-15. From there, she believes she’ll get a top-10 opponent next and keep climbing the ladder en route to a title shot. However, Moras said she’s staying focused on Eubanks for now.
The next few UFC events will have a different atmosphere due to the global coronavirus pandemic. The three scheduled events, UFC 249 on May 9, and a pair of Fight Night events scheduled for May 13 and 16, will all take place in Jacksonville, FL. The trio of events are a precursor to Dana White’s Fight Island, where the UFC will likely hold its shows until the coronavirus is in the past.
Like the last UFC event in Brazil, there will be no crowd present. Moras said that won’t bother her.
“I fought three times on [The Ultimate Fighter],” she said. “It’s pretty much the same thing.”
For the upcoming three-event fight week, all eyes in the sports world will be on the UFC, as the NHL and NBA were forced to postpone its seasons, and the MLB was unable to start, because of the virus. That could lead to more exposure for the promotion, as well as every athlete on the cards.
“I haven’t really thought of that,” Moras said. “I’m just more focused on the fight. But the more fans I get, the more opportunities I have for sponsorships, for more high-level fights, more high-profile fights on bigger fight cards.”
Fight camp in the time of coronavirus
One side effect of the coronavirus has been the mandated closures of gyms across the world. Moras, a native of Canada who lives in Las Vegas, said she began her training camp at home with her boyfriend, who’s also one of her coaches and main training partners. He’s held pads for Moras, with the two getting some drills in. As the fight grew closer, her training camp evolved a bit.
“The last few weeks, we’ve been going to the gym and working with my other coach and just getting some work on some real mats, doing real cage work and actually working on stuff with no one else at the gym,” she said.
Moras, who’s flying out the Sunday before the fight, said there’s a risk involved in flying with the coronavirus going on.
“I’ve heard airplanes are pretty empty, so that makes me feel a little better. I’m just going to take all the safety precautions I can, cross my fingers and hope for the best.”
When it comes time to fight, Moras said she’s always looking for a finish. She feels she’ll accomplish just that against Eubanks.
The May 13 event falls on a Wednesday. The card is headlined by a light heavyweight main event bout between Anthony Smith and Glover Teixeira.
Image credit:
Embed from Getty Images
