Marlon Moraes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Marlon Moraes |
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Moraes in 2018
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| Born | April 26, 1988 Nova Friburgo, Brazil |
| Other names | Magic |
| Residence | Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) |
| Weight | 145 lb (66 kg) |
| Division | Bantamweight (2012–2022) Featherweight (2007–2012) (2022–2023) |
| Reach | 67 in (170 cm) |
| Fighting out of | Toms River, New Jersey, United States |
| Team | American Top Team |
| Rank | Black belt in Muay Thai Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Ricardo Almeida |
| Years active | 2007–2023 |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 37 |
| Wins | 23 |
| By knockout | 10 |
| By submission | 6 |
| By decision | 7 |
| Losses | 13 |
| By knockout | 10 |
| By submission | 2 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Draws | 1 |
Marlon Moraes is a former professional mixed martial artist from Brazil. He was born on April 26, 1988. He competed in the Featherweight and Bantamweight divisions. Moraes was a champion in the World Series of Fighting (WSOF), which is now known as the Professional Fighters League (PFL). He also fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
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Early life and training
Marlon Moraes started learning martial arts at a very young age. He began training in Muay Thai when he was just seven years old. Muay Thai is a type of boxing from Thailand.
When he was 15, he started learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This is a martial art focused on grappling and ground fighting. Moraes became very good at Muay Thai in Brazil. He won two national championships before he decided to focus completely on mixed martial arts (MMA).
MMA career highlights
Marlon Moraes had an exciting career in mixed martial arts. He fought in several big organizations.
Starting out in XFC
Moraes began his professional MMA career in 2007. He fought in smaller events before joining bigger promotions.
In 2011, he fought Chris Manuel at XFC 15 and won by decision. The next year, in 2012, he had a quick win against Jarrod Card at XFC 17. He won that fight by knockout in less than a minute.
Becoming a champion in WSOF
In 2012, Moraes joined the World Series of Fighting (WSOF). This was a big step in his career.
His first fight in WSOF was against Miguel Torres, a former champion. Moraes won this fight by a close decision. He then had a great knockout win against Tyson Nam in 2013. He used a head kick and punches to win in the first round.
Moraes continued to win, beating Brandon Hempleman and Carson Beebe. His win against Beebe was very fast, a knockout in just 32 seconds.
Winning the WSOF title
Marlon Moraes fought Josh Rettinghouse for the first-ever WSOF Bantamweight Championship. He won the fight by decision and became the first champion in that weight class.
He defended his title many times. He beat Josh Hill twice, once by decision and once by knockout. He also defeated Sheymon Moraes and Joseph Barajas, keeping his championship belt.
In 2016, he defended his title against Josenaldo Silva. Moraes won when Silva got a knee injury during the fight. In 2017, Moraes decided to leave WSOF and gave up his championship.
Fighting in the UFC
After leaving WSOF, Marlon Moraes signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 2017. The UFC is one of the biggest MMA organizations in the world.
His first UFC fight was against Raphael Assunção, which he lost by a close decision. However, he quickly bounced back. He won his next two fights against John Dodson and Aljamain Sterling. His knockout win over Sterling earned him a "Performance of the Night" bonus.
Big wins and title shot
Moraes continued to impress in the UFC. In 2018, he fought Jimmie Rivera and won by knockout in just 33 seconds. This was a huge win because Rivera had not been finished by anyone before. This win also earned Moraes another "Performance of the Night" bonus.
In 2019, Moraes had a rematch with Raphael Assunção. This time, Moraes won by submission in the first round, earning him another "Performance of the Night" award.
These wins led him to a fight for the vacant UFC Bantamweight Championship against Henry Cejudo at UFC 238. Moraes fought hard but lost the fight in the third round.
He then fought former champion José Aldo and won by a split decision. After this, Moraes faced some tough opponents like Cory Sandhagen, Rob Font, Merab Dvalishvili, and Song Yadong, losing these fights.
In April 2022, Marlon Moraes announced his retirement from MMA. He thanked the UFC for the opportunities.
Return to fighting in PFL
Less than six months after retiring, Moraes decided to return to fighting. He signed with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) for their 2023 Featherweight tournament.
He fought Sheymon Moraes in November 2022 and lost. In 2023, he competed in the PFL season, fighting Brendan Loughnane and Gabriel Braga. He lost both of these fights.
After his fight against Gabriel Braga in June 2023, Marlon Moraes announced his retirement from MMA for the second time.
Life after fighting
After his second retirement from MMA, Marlon Moraes started a new career. In May 2024, he became a police officer in Davie, Florida.
He was briefly scheduled to return to fighting in the Global Fight League in 2025, but those events were cancelled.
Achievements and awards
Marlon Moraes achieved many great things during his fighting career.
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- He won the "Performance of the Night" bonus three times.
- He was nominated for "Fight of the Year" and "Submission of the Year" awards in 2019.
- UFC.com ranked him as a top newcomer and had one of his knockouts as a "Knockout of the Year" in 2017.
- World Series of Fighting
- He was the first-ever WSOF Bantamweight Champion.
- He holds the record for most consecutive title defenses (5 times).
- He had the most wins in title fights (6 wins).
- He had the most wins overall in WSOF (11 wins) and was undefeated during his time there (11 wins, 0 losses).
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 37 matches | 23 wins | 13 losses |
| By knockout | 10 | 10 |
| By submission | 6 | 2 |
| By decision | 7 | 1 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 23–13–1 | Gabriel Alves Braga | TKO (punches) | PFL 4 (2023) | June 8, 2023 | 1 | 3:02 | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | |
| Loss | 23–12–1 | Brendan Loughnane | TKO (leg kicks) | PFL 1 (2023) | April 1, 2023 | 2 | 1:11 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 23–11–1 | Sheymon Moraes | TKO (punches) | PFL 10 (2022) | November 25, 2022 | 3 | 0:58 | New York City, New York, United States | Return to Featherweight. |
| Loss | 23–10–1 | Song Yadong | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Ankalaev | March 12, 2022 | 1 | 2:06 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 23–9–1 | Merab Dvalishvili | TKO (punches) | UFC 266 | September 25, 2021 | 2 | 4:25 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 23–8–1 | Rob Font | TKO (elbow and punches) | UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal | December 19, 2020 | 1 | 3:47 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 23–7–1 | Cory Sandhagen | TKO (spinning wheel kick and punches) | UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen | October 10, 2020 | 2 | 1:03 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |
| Win | 23–6–1 | José Aldo | Decision (split) | UFC 245 | December 14, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 22–6–1 | Henry Cejudo | TKO (punches) | UFC 238 | June 8, 2019 | 3 | 4:51 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | For the vacant UFC Bantamweight Championship. |
| Win | 22–5–1 | Raphael Assunção | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC Fight Night: Assunção vs. Moraes 2 | February 2, 2019 | 1 | 3:17 | Fortaleza, Brazil | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 21–5–1 | Jimmie Rivera | KO (head kick and punches) | UFC Fight Night: Rivera vs. Moraes | June 1, 2018 | 1 | 0:33 | Utica, New York, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 20–5–1 | Aljamain Sterling | KO (knee) | UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Ortega | December 9, 2017 | 1 | 1:07 | Fresno, California, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 19–5–1 | John Dodson | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Pettis | November 11, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Norfolk, Virginia, United States | |
| Loss | 18–5–1 | Raphael Assunção | Decision (split) | UFC 212 | June 3, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Win | 18–4–1 | Josenaldo Silva | TKO (knee injury) | WSOF 34 | December 31, 2016 | 1 | 2:30 | New York City, New York, United States | Defended the WSOF Bantamweight Championship. |
| Win | 17–4–1 | Josh Hill | KO (head kick and punches) | WSOF 32 | July 30, 2016 | 2 | 0:38 | Everett, Washington, United States | Defended the WSOF Bantamweight Championship |
| Win | 16–4–1 | Joseph Barajas | TKO (leg kicks) | WSOF 28 | February 20, 2016 | 1 | 1:13 | Garden Grove, California, United States | Defended the WSOF Bantamweight Championship. |
| Win | 15–4–1 | Sheymon Moraes | Submission (rear-naked choke) | WSOF 22 | August 1, 2015 | 3 | 3:46 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Defended the WSOF Bantamweight Championship. |
| Win | 14–4–1 | Josh Hill | Decision (unanimous) | WSOF 18 | February 12, 2015 | 5 | 5:00 | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | Defended the WSOF Bantamweight Championship. |
| Win | 13–4–1 | Cody Bollinger | Submission (rear-naked choke) | WSOF 13 | September 13, 2014 | 2 | 1:35 | Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States | Catchweight (140 lb) bout; Bollinger missed weight (147 lb). |
| Win | 12–4–1 | Josh Rettinghouse | Decision (unanimous) | WSOF 9 | March 29, 2014 | 5 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Won the inaugural WSOF Bantamweight Championship. |
| Win | 11–4–1 | Carson Beebe | KO (punches) | WSOF 6 | October 26, 2013 | 1 | 0:32 | Coral Gables, Florida, United States | |
| Win | 10–4–1 | Brandon Hempleman | Decision (unanimous) | WSOF 4 | August 10, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Ontario, California, United States | |
| Win | 9–4–1 | Tyson Nam | KO (head kick and punches) | WSOF 2 | March 23, 2013 | 1 | 2:55 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 8–4–1 | Miguel Torres | Decision (split) | WSOF 1 | November 12, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 7–4–1 | Jarrod Card | KO (punch) | XFC 17: Apocalypse | April 13, 2012 | 1 | 0:47 | Jackson, Tennessee, United States | Bantamweight debut. |
| Win | 6–4–1 | Chris Manuel | Decision (unanimous) | XFC 15: Tribute | December 2, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Tampa, Florida, United States | |
| Loss | 5–4–1 | Deividas Taurosevičius | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Ring of Combat 38 | November 18, 2011 | 1 | 2:34 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | For the ROC Featherweight Championship. |
| Loss | 5–3–1 | Ralph Acosta | Submission (rear-naked choke) | World Extreme Fighting 46 | April 22, 2011 | 2 | 3:03 | Orlando, Florida, United States | |
| Win | 5–2–1 | Ryan Bixler | Submission (Americana) | RMMA 20: Clash at the Casino | April 8, 2011 | 1 | 1:44 | New Orleans, Louisiana, United States | |
| Win | 4–2–1 | Nicolas Joannes | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Shoot & Sprawl 2 | October 2, 2010 | 1 | 3:49 | Northamptonshire, England | |
| Draw | 3–2–1 | Sandro China | Draw (unanimous) | Dojo Combat 1 | April 17, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Juiz de Fora, Brazil | |
| Win | 3–2 | André Rouberte | TKO (punches) | Shooto: Brazil 10 | January 17, 2009 | 1 | 3:35 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Loss | 2–2 | Zeilton Rodrigues | TKO (punches) | Shooto: Brazil 7 | June 28, 2008 | 1 | 1:45 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Loss | 2–1 | Alexandre Pinheiro | TKO (punches) | Shooto: Brazil 6 | April 18, 2008 | 1 | 2:58 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Win | 2–0 | José Lucas de Melo | TKO (punches) | MMA Sports Combat 2 | March 15, 2008 | 1 | N/A | Rio das Ostras, Brazil | |
| Win | 1–0 | Bruno Santana | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Desafio: Brazil Fight Center 2 | April 14, 2007 | 1 | N/A | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
See also
In Spanish: Marlon Moraes para niños
- List of current PFL fighters
- List of male mixed martial artists
