Thiago Moises spent the first round of his UFC Jacksonville fight with Michael Johnson being outworked. Out-fought. With his back against the fence, frequently trying to circle out of harm’s way.
Just seconds into round number two, he was celebrating. An unthinkable, lightening quick heel hook victory saw Moises (13-4) pull off an improbable comeback. It was only 25 seconds into the round.
“I was down one round, so my coach told me to move forward,” Moises later told reporters including Cageside Press at a virtual post-fight press scrum. “I listen to him. That’s what I did. I went forward, I went to look for what is mine. The submission.”
Moises worked with Dustin Poirier ahead of the fight, someone he called “very helpful.”
“He has a similar style to Michael Johnson. Both guys are southpaw,” the Brazilian noted. “He has really good boxing, really good cardio.”
All along, Moises had a suspicion that he could submit “The Menace.”
“I watched his fights, I knew he didn’t have a good ground game. He commits a lot of mistakes on the ground. I was ready to capitalize on that,” revealed Moises. Now, the fighter, who resides in Florida, is ready to get going again. “This was a big turnaround for my career. I’m just ready for the next step,” he said.
“I’m ready to go. I’m healthy,” Moises added. “100% I’m going to be back training Monday, fix my mistakes.” Sounds like he’ll be looking to fight against soon.
