WSOF’s Marlon Moraes open to proposed Dantas fight, believes UFC challenges may lie in future
Marlon Moraes is quickly establishing himself as one of the top bantamweights in the game. But in order to be considered as the best, Moraes knows he must defeat fighters ahead of him in the rankings, and most of those fighters reside in the UFC.
“I just want who is in front of me in the rankings,†Moraes told MMAjunkie. “I look at the top five and those are the guys who I want to fight. I want to keep improving and if I have my chance, I’m going to beat these guys.â€
Moraes’ (12-4-1) desire to take on loftier competition was brought to the forefront more than ever before when World Series of Fighting matchmaker Ali Abdel-Aziz recently proposed an event that would pit WSOF fighters against fighters from Bellator MMA.
One of the matchups on the card posed Moraes against Bellator’s bantamweight champion, Eduardo Dantas. That potential matchup got fans and Moraes very excited.
“I went online and saw the challenge and it surprised me,†Moraes said. “I just want to fight, and of course Eduardo Dantas is a tough guy. I know him, but I’m at the point in my career where I want to fight the best.â€
Unfortunately for Moraes, the fights that get him truly jazzed are unlikely to happen any time in the near future. While the fight with Dantas would be an extremely compelling affair, Moraes believes the WSOF vs. Bellator card will remain nothing more than fantasy.
“I can’t see it actually happening,†Moraes said. “Bellator has been in business a little longer than us, and it probably wouldn’t be good for them.â€
With the Dantas fight looking unrealistic at this point, Moraes has turned his attention to his next fight, which will take place in March for the inaugural WSOF bantamweight championship.
Moraes is uncertain who his opponent will be, but he hopes WSOF officials can sign a highly ranked fighter who will force him to prove the level of his talents.
“I just want to be in there with the best fighters in the world,†Moraes said. “I have been working so hard to introduce myself as one of the best guys in the world, and I’ll have the shot to prove I’m the best in WSOF. I can’t tell you how exciting it is.â€
Considering the UFC holds a majority share of the world’s best bantamweight fighters, Moraes knows that unless WSOF can sign more elite talent, he is approaching or has already hit a ceiling in terms of rankings. While Moraes is admittedly happy with his standing under his current employers, he knows there is only one place he can prove without a doubt he is the best fighter in his weight class.
Moraes believes WSOF officials understand his desire to showcase the extent of his skills, and thinks that when the time comes, he could part ways with the organization in a purely positive manner.
“I love WSOF, Ali, Ray Sefo – they fought before so they understand what is on my mind,†Moraes said. “I want to prove that I’m the best fighter in the world and at some point if I want to go, these guys for sure won’t try to stop me. I think they will do it and that’s why I’m so happy with WSOF now.
“My next fight is going to be for the title, I want to get this title and introduce myself as one of the best fighters in the world. After that, we’ll see if they let me go or they bring in somebody. I just want to fight the best guys and prove I can beat them.â€
At just 26 years of age, Moraes is motivated by the goal of fighting the best, but is also in no major rush, as he knows the time will eventually come.
As he continues to flourish under the WSOF banner, though, Moraes wants to remind fans that his sole purpose in the sport is to be ranked No. 1. He’ll do whatever it takes to get there, whether it’s fighting the Bellator champion, UFC champion or any other champion he can get his hands on.
“I want to fight Dantas, I want to fight Renan Barao, I want to fight Dominick Cruz, I want to fight Urijah Faber – all Those big names in the sport,†Moraes said. “I know I can’t fight those guys because they’re there and I’m here, but I want to fight them.
“I want to show that I’m the best fighter at 135 in the world.â€
