Marlon Moraes wishes to fight for the UFC bantamweight title by the end of the year.
Bantamweight contender Marlon Moraes believes he is next in line for a title shot.
A former World Series of Fighting champion, the Brazilian put together a three-fight winning streak in his UFC career, with just one blemish in his Octagon debut, a split decision loss to fellow countryman Raphael Assuncao.
However, as Moraes explained to Combate, he feels like he deserves the next title shot more than the last man to defeat him, because he finishes fights and believes to be an overall more exciting fighter for the fans to watch.
“Raphael is a fantastic guy, I really like him,” Moraes said. “I think he’s a great athlete, too. I think he’s in the mix. But that’s the fighting business, that’s what the fans want to watch. Nobody wants to stay up until one in the morning and watch a fight go for five rounds. They want to see someone going to sleep, that’s the truth. That’s what the fans like, and I’m sure opponents, too. It’s good to fight someone who sells fights. It’s the fight to make, I already talked to my bosses. I’ll wait for the winner [of T.J. Dillashaw vs. Cody Garbrandt] by the end of the year.”
Marlon Moraes is on a three-fight winning streak, with wins over the likes of John Dodson, Aljamain Sterling and, most recently, a vicious KO of Jimmie Rivera at UFC Utica in June. His loss to Assuncao came in June of 2017.
Meanwhile, Assuncao finds himself on a four-fight winning streak, having defeated Aljamain Sterling, Marlon Moraes, Matthew Lopez and Rob Font, the latter at UFC 226 on last Saturday.