World Series of Fighting bantamweight MMA champ Marlon Moraes has openly admitted that he wants to fight someone in the higher ranked opposition. So as soon as the opportunity of going up against UFC contender like Aljamain Sterling happened, Moras said he tried his best to convice the WSOF management to sign “The Funk Master”.
“Not just told, but I begged (WSOF officials to sign Sterling) because I knew this guy is a big name. He’s a great fighter. He works very well for the promotion, and I think it was a smart move by the UFC, keeping him, because he can make a lot of noise in this division. He’s one of the guys I look up at, and it would be a pleasure having a guy like that on the roster, so I could be fighting a guy like this and prove where I belong,” Moraes revealed.
After the highly publicized free agent period, Sterling revealed during his interview with The MMA Hour that he has decided to re-sign with the UFC. Sterling said that the promotion gave an offer that is better than what he had in the past. This decision, however, ended Moraes’ hope of fighting one of the best fighters in the division.
This event is actually expected, but nonetheless frustrating for Moraes. The 27-year-old, however, is slated to defend his title against MMA contender Joseph Barajas on Saturday at WSOF 28.
Moraes has a perfect record of 8-0 during his entire stay of WSOF run and is training under Mark Henry. Henry also trains top fighters like Frankie Edgar and Edson Barboza.
All in all, Moraes is one of the best bantamweight MMA fighters outside the UFC as of today. However, Moraes is searching for more interesting contenders as the quality of his contenders are not up to par with what he has to give inside the cage.
“Everybody knows where I belong. I have Frankie with me, and Frankie, man, in my opinion, is one of the best 145ers in the world. Training with him everyday is no joke, and I know I can fight with these guys. I want to put myself in deep waters. My coach always tells me, ‘man, when you fight with these guys who people think are going to be good (and) they’re going to beat you, that’s the best Marlon.’ And I want to take the best Marlon. I want to find the best Marlon. And I know to find that guy, I’ve got to fight with these guys, with these monsters. I’m going to become a monster when I fight with those monsters,” Moraes added.