Marlon Moraes, fresh off his first UFC victory, is getting right back into the cage, stepping up to face Aljamain Sterling at UFC Fresno.
Marlon Moraes picked up a much needed win against John Dodson at UFC Fight Night 120 last weekend. A split decision, the victory evened the former WSOF champion’s UFC record to 1-1. Looking to build on that success, Moraes has opted to step up, and step in, to replace the injured Rani Yahya at UFC Fight Night 123 (better known as UFC Fresno). The event takes place next month.
MMA Junkie was first to report the news, while Sterling had a little fun making an announcement of his own on Twitter.
The only Marlon that matters is a Wayans’ Brother and no “Magic” is gonna change that! 😉
•#FUCKJIMMY #UFCFresno #PIWCO #FunkJitsu #StrongIsland pic.twitter.com/7wQ4SEAG69— Aljamain Sterling (@FunkMaster_UFC) November 17, 2017
Moraes (18–5–1) dropped a split decision to Raphael Assuncao at UFC 212 in his first trip to the UFC octagon earlier this year. Prior to that, he had run up a thirteen fight win streak, capturing the WSOF bantamweight title in the process and defending it five times. Moraes was one of the WSOF’s longest-serving stars, having made his promotional debut at WSOF 1 against Miguel Torres.
Former Cage Fury Fighting Championships bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling (14–2), meanwhile, is coming off arguably the biggest win of his career over ex-UFC champ Renan Barao. Sterling is ranked eighth in the UFC’s official standings; Marlon Moraes has yet to appear in the rankings.
UFC Fresno, properly known as UFC Fight Night 123, takes place in Fresno, CA at the Save Mart Center. Cub Swanson meets Brian Ortega in the featherweight main event.
