Marlon Moraes: Anyone Who Understands MMA Knows I Connected More Than Jose Aldo

Perhaps the most contentious verdict at UFC 245 occurred in the bantamweight matchup between Marlon Moraes and Jose Aldo on Saturday’s pay-per-view card.

Moraes ultimately spoiled Aldo’s 135-pound debut with a split-decision victory, but there were many observers — included about half of the media scoring contingent — that believed the former featherweight king deserved the nod. Commentary during the fight also favored Aldo in large part due to his constant forward movement.

Despite these factors, Moraes believes he clearly did enough to deserve the victory.

“Aldo was the pressure fighter, so the crowd thought that he won, but if you talk to anyone who understands the sport and really watch that fight, you’ll see that I connected better and scored more,” Moraes said. “I knew that I had done enough.”

Striking stats were close in every frame, but figures released by UFCStats.com seem to support Moraes’ viewpoint. The former World Series of Fighting Champion outlanded Aldo 18 to 15 in Round 1 and 20 to 15 in Round 3. Aldo, meanwhile, held a 28-to-21 edge in significant strikes in the second stanza.

“The big difference was I rocked him in the first round,” Moraes said. “I won the first round clearly. He won the second round, but he didn’t put me in danger. In the third round I think I landed the better strikes. This is why I won.”

The victory marked Moraes’ first appearance since losing to Henry Cejudo in a bout for the vacant bantamweight title at UFC 238 in June. Interestingly enough, Cejudo contacted UFC president Dana White about a potential matchup with Aldo after Saturday’s fight. However, Moraes says he’s open to a rematch with Aldo if that’s what the promotion desires.

“I needed this, I needed to win and get back what I lost in the title fight. I have a family, I need to take care of them and that’s it,” he said. “I don’t know what’s next, that was a close fight so if they want to run it back, I’m here. I’m ready.”