Aldo Vs. Moraes Added To UFC 245

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Just when you thought UFC 245 couldn’t get a bit more stacked, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has decided to add some more flavor to the final pay-per-view (PPV) event of the year.

According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, the promotion has booked a fight between former Featherweight champion, Jose Aldo, and former Bantamweight title contender, Marlon Moraes in what will be Aldo’s 135-pound debut.

“Junior” recently announced his move down to 135 pounds and posted this picture of his slim physique. He will look to bounce back after coming up short against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 237 last May. The loss snapped Jose’s two-fight win streak, and ultimately prompted him to go down a division for the first time in his career.

Interestingly enough, Moraes had been campaigning for a fight against his fellow countrymen, and it seems UFC is more than happy to oblige. Marlon came up short in his bid to capture the vacant 135-pound strap after losing to Henry Cejudo via third round knockout at UFC 238 earlier this year (see it). The loss snapped “Magic’s” four-fight win streak, giving him just his second loss inside the Octagon.

The winner here could get a huge bump in the rankings, though earning a championship fight is not a foregone conclusion. That’s because UFC also booked a 135-pound showdown between Urijah Faber and Peter Yan for the same event, which means the winner of that bout could have a strong case for a shot at the title, too.

UFC 245 will be headlined by a Welterweight title fight as division king, Kamaru Usman, will face Colby Covington, while Max Holloway puts his Featherweight belt up against Alexander Volkanovski. Rounding out the trio of title fights is Amanda Nunes defending her women’s Bantamweight title against Germaine de Randamie.

To see who else is fighting at UFC 245: “Usman vs Covington” click here.