On today’s show, top bantamweight contender @MMARLONMORAES said he felt “a little bit embarrassed” to see the bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw lose the way he did on Saturday night.
“I just feel a little bit embarrassed, you know?” Marlon Moraes said on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show when speaking of TJ Dillashaw’s loss to Henry Cejudo. “Being a 135er and having our champion going down and losing… Because I’m a ’35er, he’s going down, representing us and he lost.
“I have a lot of friends at 125-pounds, I think the 125-pound division should stick around and they have a lot of guys. I think Henry, he fought and he was there representing all these guys. I wasn’t happy, because I’m happy when I win, and I love to watch those good fighters fighting but I was kind of cheering for Henry to win.”
Arguably next in line for a title shot at 135-pounds in the bantamweight division is the former World Series of Fighting champion, ‘Magic’ Marlon Moraes.
This didn’t stop Moraes from being highly invested in the champion vs champion bout that his division’s titleholder TJ Dillashaw recently participated in opposite flyweight king Henry Cejudo.
Needing only 32-seconds to close the show, Cejudo would reign supreme and earn his first title defense. But by defeating another champion in the process, it now throws things into questioning for Moraes’ future.
The rematch with Assuncao is as clear as it gets when it comes to No. 1 contender fights and the winner should undeniably be getting a crack at Dillashaw’s title.
Ultimately, they may have to end up waiting now that Dillashaw has lost to the champion in the division below him which could lead the UFC to make a rematch for Dillashaw’s title.
How the situation will sort itself out remains to be determined, but regardless, Moraes will need to pick up the win in two weeks.
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 1/21/2019
Former UFC champion Leon Edwards has broken his silence following his lopsided defeat at the hands of Sean Brady.
At UFC London last month, Leon Edwards went head to head with Sean Brady in the main event at the O2 Arena. While many expected Leon to put forward a good account of himself, it turned out to be quite the opposite. Instead, he was handily beaten by Brady, eventually leading to a submission defeat.
UFC fighter Bryce Mitchell has encouraged fans to bet a large amount on him defeating Jean Silva at UFC 314.
This Saturday night, Bryce Mitchell will collide with Jean Silva in what promises to be a fascinating affair at UFC 314. For Silva, it’s a chance to prove that he belongs at the elite level. For Bryce, he needs to silence some of the many, many doubters that he’s gained over the course of the last few months.
Diana Belbita, SeungWoo Choi and Istela Nunes have all been removed from the official UFC roster, as per sources close to Guilherme Cruz.
Part of being in the Ultimate Fighting Championship is trying to navigate your way through the turbulent waters of being on the roster. In the UFC, there’s no guarantee of success, and that much goes without saying. Alas, you can be kept on the roster for a multitude of reasons – and you can also be released for a lot of reasons too.
The GFL has canceled its first two events, and the future of the promotion is very much in doubt.
Rumors started to swirl on Wednesday night that the GFL may have to postpone their first two events scheduled for next month. However, MMA reporter Ariel Helwai reported that the two events have indeed been postponed, and the future of the promotion is up in the air.
Paddy Pimblett admits he is worried about Michael Chandler and his dirty antics ahead of their UFC 314 fight.
Pimblett is set to take on Chandler in a pivotal lightweight bout in the co-main event of UFC 314 on Saturday. It’s a step-up in competition for Pimblett, who is confident he has all the tools to get his hand raised.
In the co-main event of UFC 314, a pivotal five-round lightweight bout takes place as Michael Chandler takes on Paddy Pimblett. Heading into the fight, Chandler is a +124 underdog, while the Brit is a -160 favorite on FanDuel.
Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro-fighters to get their predictions for the lightweight bout. The pros slightly lean towards Pimblett getting the biggest win of his career, but many are expecting it to be a very close fight.
Jean Silva thinks he could end Bryce Mitchell’s career at UFC 314 on Saturday.
Silva is set to take on Mitchell in a pivotal featherweight bout. Heading into the fight, the two have taken aim at one another, and it has become heated for both men. However, Silva remains confident he won’t just win but will finish Mitchell and do so violently.
The future of Israel Adesanya inside the Octagon is unclear.
Adesanya ruled the roost of the UFC middleweight division twice, but he now finds himself on a three-fight skid. He lost back-to-back title fights against Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis. “The Last Stylebender” was then stopped by Nassourdine Imavov in Saudi Arabia.
