Former UFC title challenger Marlon Moraes has announced his retirement from MMA following a 1st round KO loss to Gabriel Braga. The fight took place at PFL 4 on Thursday, June 8th, exactly 4 years following Moraes’ fight with Henry Cejudo for the vacant UFC bantamweight championship. This loss marks the 7th in a row for Moraes, with all of those coming by way of KO/TKO. Marlon Moraes retires with a 23-13-1 record in MMA.
Moraes’ Legacy
Marlon Moraes retires as one of the best Brazilian fighters to compete in MMA. Moraes’ last win comes over Jose Aldo, and he’s taken on many of the best bantamweights in the world throughout his career. The fight before this was against 2022 PFL featherweight champion Brendan Loughnane at PFL 1. Moraes has also fought 6 of the 9 highest ranked bantamweights currently in the UFC. Moraes is a former WSOF bantamweight champion and defended his title 5 times before being signed to the UFC.
UFC Tenure
In the UFC, he lost his debut to Raphael Assuncao, but turned a corner following the loss. A 4-fight win streak followed, including finishes over current UFC champion Aljamain Sterling and vengeance against Assuncao. This win streak led to a title fight with Cejudo, one that Moraes would impress in prior to being finished. After this fight Moraes struggled, losing 4 of his next 5. Moraes signed with the PFL in September of 2022 following a brief retirement stint after his fight with Song Yadong.
Coming Back to His Roots
The PFL is the continuation of the former promotion World Series of Fighting, where Moraes was champion before his UFC tenure. While his tenure in the PFL didn’t go the way he wanted, Moraes was happy to come back to his roots for his final fights. Marlon Moraes’ retirement is something that marks the coming to an end of former WSOF champions in MMA. Most of them have already retired like David Branch, and others like Justin Gaethje recognize their time is short-lived. Moraes said in his retirement interview that he’s proud of what he accomplished and can say he gave it his all. I think I speak for many when we can say we agree and are happy he called it quits. Let’s hope Marlon lives a healthy and happy future following his career!
