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Marlon Moraes thinks it’s clear that he won the fight against Jose Aldo at UFC 245.
UFC bantamweight contender sees no controversy in his split decision win over former featherweigth champion Jose Aldo at last Saturday’s UFC 245. In a very close, back-and-forth striking battle, both men came very close to winning the fight at different points, but it was ‘Magic’ who came out on top in the end, convincing two out three judges.
However, many MMA pundits did not agree with the scorecards, scoring it for Aldo. Jose himself expressed his thoughts on the matter, believing he did enough to win rounds two and three, but Moraes begs to differ. In an interview with Combate, Marlon says it’s clear he was the winner, and the he adopted a strategy similiar to boxing legend Floyd Mayweather’s.
“At the time of the fight, many people get influenced by the crowd’s reaction. In the third round, my gameplan was to counter a bit more, and I did, after I watched the fight, find much more success and landed better shots throughout the round. I’m sure. I’m not just saying it because I want to defend my position. It’s what I saw after watching the fight. If anyone has any doubts, just watch the fight again. They can watch and agree with me, but, unfortunately, they’ll remain attached to what they believe.”
“Aldo said I ran all the time, but it’s clear that wasn’t the case. “Marlon continued. “The first round was mine and, in the third, my strategy was to move and capitalize on his mistakes. Floyd Mayweather fought like this his whole career. Many athletes fight like that. It was my strategy, to touch and not be touched. That’s the bottomline of the fight and it’s what happened in the third round. He only hit me with one punch. Other than that, it was all good.”
The win over Aldo puts Moraes (23-6-1) back on the win column. In his last outing before UFC 245, the 31-year-old came up short when challenging for the bantamweight title against Henry Cejudo, back in June, losing the fight via third round TKO at UFC 238. The defeat marks Magic’s sole blemish on his record in the past two years.