Ex-UFC bantamweight star Marlon Moraes wins first fight in seven years
Marlon Moraes has finally broken his long losing streak after competing in his first fight since returning from his second retirement.
Marlon Moraes, an ex-UFC bantamweight contender, has just turned his luck around by scoring his first win, in any combat sport, in seven years. The win took place on home soil, as he fought at Liga Monstro Combate 2 in SĂŁo Paulo, Brazil, taking on Maximiliano Perez.
Marlon Moraes is back in the win column
After nearly a decade, Marlon Moraes has finally tasted victory again. However, it's not a fight that will earn much applause. Yesterday, at Liga Monstro Combate 2, he faced Argentina's Maximiliano Perez in a three-round 139-pound catchweight bout, winning via unanimous decision. However, the caliber of his opponent, Perez, was questionable, as he was 14-14 heading into the bout, and 2-8 in his last 10 fights. It was a fight Moraes could not lose, so it was no surprise that he outwrestled Perez to a clear win. However, where he goes from here is anyone's guess. At 38 years old, with a 24-13-1 record, he is in his twilight years and needed to scrape the bottom of the barrel in Brazil's regional MMA scene to find someone he could beat. He should be under no illusions of mounting a title challenge, even at Liga Monstro Combate.
Before the Perez fight, Moraes' last win was back on Dec. 14, 2019, at UFC 245. At the time, he had just beaten all-time great featherweight José Aldo in a contentious split-decision bantamweight bout that many felt should have gone Aldo's way. It was just one win since Moraes' failure to capture the then vacant bantamweight title at UFC 238, where he was TKO'd in round three by Henry Cejudo. He seemed to have never truly recovered from the sheer amount of damage he absorbed in that fight, and after the win over Aldo, went on an astonishing seven-fight losing streak, or eight if his first-round submission loss to Ary Farias in submission grappling at ACBJJ 19 is counted.
However, in his prime, Moraes was a force to be reckoned with. He was a powerful striker, with thunderous kicks and an underrated Brazilian jiu-jitsu game. Perhaps his greatest career highlight was the first-round knockout he scored over future all-time great UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC Fight Night 123.
