Moraes Eyes Aldo Fight Next

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After losing to Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champ-champ, Henry Cejudo, at UFC 238 this past June via knockout (see it again here), Marlon Moraes is gearing up for his Octagon return. And he has a very interesting name in mind to welcome him back.

During a recent media day for Dominance MMA-managed fighters, “Magic” told ESPN he is eyeing a showdown against former UFC Featherweight champion, Jose Aldo.

It’s an eyebrow-raising callout to say the least, as Aldo competes at 145 pounds, while Marlon has spent most of his career down at Bantamweight. However, “Magic” did spend his first 10 bouts competing in the Featherweight division.

That said, it seems as if Marlon is ready to pack on the pounds in order to face off against his fellow countrymen, and it would be an intriguing showdown to say the least. Prior to his loss to Cejudo, Marlon had won 17 of 18 fights. Before making the jump over to UFC, Moraes ruled World Series of Fighting (WSOF) as its 135-pound champ. After going 4-1 to start his UFC career, the Brazilian bomber earned a title fight against Moraes for the vacant strap, but ultimately came up short.

Aldo, meanwhile, hasn’t had the most consistent run inside the Octagon as of late, going 3-4 in the last four years. After winning the vacant 145-pound title, Aldo went on to drop two straight to Max Holloway before racking up back-to-back knockout victories over Jeremy Stephens and Renato Moicano. He then dropped his next bout to Alexander Volkanovski, forcing him to once again start from scratch.

With both men needing a win in a big way, the potential matchup should bring out the best of them, which could lead to one heck of a scrap. Especially since they each made their bread on the feet.

Are you feeling this potential scrap?