Marlon Moraes Sees WSOF Bout Against Carson Beebe as ‘Awesome Opportunity’

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Marlon Moraes will look to continue his climb up the World Series of Fighting bantamweight ladder when he meets Carson Beebe on Oct. 26 at WSOF 6. The WSOF 6 undercard streams live and free on Sherdog.com.

Ahead of the bout, Moraes joined the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show to discuss his opponent, his start in MMA and more.

On whether he fought growing up: “Just one time. I’m going to tell you the truth. I was nine, maybe nine and a half, between 10. My neighborhood in Brazil was really poor. … I remember those big kids used to bully me a lot. One day a guy slapped me on the face, and I punched him back and knocked him out. After that I [was] never fighting anymore in my whole life outside the gym.”

On what made him want to become a fighter: “I started to train and have fun with my friends and I got my first fight. I never [thought about] fighting as a professional. I was just happy with my life. I kept training and I saw my coach. He was fighting. … And my training partner, Edson Barboza, he was also. I saw those guys fighting and I just wanted to get belts, trophies, no money. I never thought about money. … I kept going to school. I went to college. I kept doing this on the side, but now I’m doing it as a professional. I’m living for this.”

On becoming a fighter: “When I decided to be a fighter, I changed my life. I don’t like to go out. If I want to fight, I’m going to eat clean, live well and be home as early as I can because a fighter’s life is not easy. … I’m so happy. I’m so happy with my life. I have no problem with this.”

On his opponent, Carson Beebe: “It’s a great opportunity. He’s an awesome fighter. He’s a great wrestler. He comes from a traditional MMA family. His brother used to fight for the WEC. This is what I want. I want to fight with good guys, tough guys, big names. It’s an awesome opportunity for me.”

On whether he’s concerned with takedowns if he kicks: “No, this is why I’m training every day. I’m training to be able to kick him even if he’s a wrestler or not. It’s MMA. It doesn’t matter. I’ll be kicking anyway.”

On whether his body was beat up some after fighting in August: “It was, but I recover good. I’m young. I want to be fighting. I got a call from the show, and always when they call me, I’m going to say yes. They’re doing great with me.”

On the fight: “I’m really confident. I’m training hard. I’m going to give my heart, my blood, whatever I need to see in the end my hand raised.”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 1:09:38).