Marlon Moraes is targeting a bout with Jimmy Rivera at UFC 219 following his win over John Dodson at UFC Norfolk on Saturday night
Moraes took a split-decision victory over The Ultimate Fighter 14 winner Dodson and is now focusing on the road ahead:
“I’m happy, but the judge for me is my coaches,” Moraes told MMAjunkie after his victory. “They said I won, so I’m happy, and I hope to go back to the gym and get better and Dec. 30, beating Jimmie Rivera.”
Moraes was subject to a shower of boos from the crowd following ‘illegal’ strikes landed on Dodson which looked to severely affect his opponent’s composure at one point. Moraes claims that those strikes were ‘accidental’:
“I think the boos for the crowd were more for the two shots in the first round,” Moraes said. “I think they all knew I won, but they were a little concerned about the shots I landed with. That’s OK. I’ll go to the gym, I’ll be back. That was a friggin’ accident.”
The Brazilian, who lost to Rafael Assuncao in controversial fashion in his UFC debut, is looking towards Rivera who is without an opponent following Dominick Cruz’s withdrawal due to a broken arm:
“That’s the fight to make,” Moraes said. “I want to fight, he has no opponent, let’s go. … There’s no easy fights up there. I’m here, I put in two tough fights, so I think I belong here.”
