Sheymon Moraes believes there’s good reason to be hyped about Sodiq Yusuff, but wants to see if the Contender Series star can handle his power.
Wilmington, DE — Featherweight Sheymon Moraes returns to the octagon this weekend at UFC Philadelphia, taking on Sodiq Yusuff, a hot prospect who shot to fame on the Contender Series. Moraes, in that sense, is looking to play spoiler on the Philadelphia card. And he certainly has it in him. Last time out, the Brazilian was in a bloodbath against Julio Arce. He came away with a split decision.
This time, he told media members including Cageside Press at the UFC Philadelphia media day, it doesn’t matte if it’s bloody or not. Sounding like every James Bond villain ever, he said simply that “I don’t care, the blood is not mine.”
Yikes. Then again, he added, “If it’s a clean fight, it’s better for the people that watch. I hope I can knock him out or win by choke or something like that.”
Wait, a clean fight is better? But isn’t a bloodier fight a way to get more attention? Maybe, maybe not. “Some spectators get scared,” he suggested. Plus, there was the three showers he had to take to get cleaned up after his last fight. “I think three times. It was crazy.”
After going to the judges in his first two UFC wins, Moraes is looking to get that first UFC finish. “Yeah man, I hope so. I’m hungry for a knockout.” While he’s happy with the way his career has unfolded in the promotion so far (his only loss came to Zabit Magomedsharipov, himself a rising star), finishes were something Moraes was used to. “I want to show the division how powerful I am.”
An opponent like Sodiq Yusuff, meanwhile, is “making me train more,” Moraes said. “I feel really challenged because the guy’s young, he’s powerful, he’s explosive. This is making me challenge myself, train more harder, making more motivation for giving you guys a better show.”
Despite the hype train of Sodiq, Moraes doesn’t feel overlooked. “He’s a really good fighter, he’s good in everything. I have to watch out for him all the time.” Moraes doesn’t think he’ll be able to take his eyes off his opponent, so perhaps the hype is well deserved. “We’ll see if he can [take] my power, if I can [take] his power,” the Brazilian finished.
