Marlon Moraes (22-5) made another statement tonight in submitting Raphael Assuncao (27-6) in the very first round. These two previously met in 2017 with Assuncao winning a very close decision.
The bout was viewed as one that either man could win. At the very least this fight was supposed to be very competitive. It turned out to be anything but that tonight.
In the opening round both men tried to feel each other out. It was Moraes who striked first as he was able to hurt his opponent with back to back over hand rights. The first one stunned Assuncao while the second saw him hit the canvas. Moraes jumped all over him and landed vicious shots from the top position. From their Moraes began to look for a choke and finally found the guillotine. Once he had it locked in it took only a few seconds for Assuncao to tap out.
Moraes is now 18-1 in his last 19 fights. Current champion T.J. Dillashaw now has a true title threat staring him right in the face. After the fight Moraes took a shot at Dillashaw’s last performance in the octagon:
“Hey T.J. I don’t know if you deserve to fight with me after your last performance. I’m sorry. I may have to take somebody else and let you go down and hunt for the little boys.”
Big words by Moraes. Yes Dillashaw was starched in his last fight against Henry Cejudo but he is still the Bantamweight champion and one of if not the very best the division has ever seen. These two are now on a collision course. Hopefully we’ll see it happen sooner rather than later.
