John Moraga was once a UFC title challenger. Now he finds himself outside of the promotion, looking in.
A flyweight fighter, Moraga (19-7) was released from the UFC in early 2019 along with a handful of his fellow 125-pounders.
“It was very surprising, but it unfolded it the way it did,” Moraga told MMA Junkie in a recent interview. “I was released last February. I don’t know. They kept me on the roster for six months. Then, I got my release paperwork. … I think I just got caught up in the flyweight chaos that was happening. That situation wasn’t good for me. The timing of everything – it is what it is.
“I was 3-1 my last four. The last guy I lost to would be a champ right now if he had made weight. I’m trying to get back there.”
Approximately eight months after his release, Moraga resumed professional combat sports competition – but not in a cage. Moraga delved into boxing, where he defeated Brandon Foss by second-round TKO.
“I’ve been training with pro boxers for the last couple years,” Moraga said. “My boxing skills have really improved a lot. The opportunity just presented itself. Boxing is kind of weird. It’s hard to get fights. There was just an opportunity. It was kind of short-notice, but we were already kind of training for a fight. We were in shape, and we said let’s do it. We might do more of that if that’s the only thing that we can get it – just to stay active in the meantime.”
After his boxing match, Moraga signed with rising international MMA promotion ARES FC, an organization he thinks has a lot of potential.
“They sent me a message,” Moraga said. “They reached out to me. I was interested right away. They have a lot of potential. They’re trying to do it real big in Europe. They were the ones who made the circumstances right for me to go ahead and feel comfortable enough to sign with them.”
Despite COVID-19 concerns postponing ARES FC 2, Moraga’s promotional debut against fellow UFC vet Hector Sandoval (15-4) is still on tap, for now. The event was originally scheduled to take place April 3, but is now expected to take place Oct. 30, instead.
“He’s a tough opponent,” Moraga said of Sandoval. “He’s a UFC vet. I thought it was a good opportunity for me to go in there and show I can still do what I do against these higher level guys. It’s whatever. I’m not set on that opponent. I’m just set on getting back in there.”
Check out MMA Junkie’s full interview with John Moraga in the video above.
John Moraga details 'surprising' UFC release, move to ARES FC