Marlon Moraes Is Not Thinking About Possible Title Fight With UFC on ESPN+ 2 Win

Marlon Moraes spoke with MMAjunkie ahead of his fight with Raphael Assuncao at UFC on ESPN+ 2. Highlights are below:

<On not fighting for a title yet: “I think that’s life: You can’t keep longing for something you didn’t get. I think, when you get something, you have to appreciate it. I’m getting this big opportunity in my life and I’ll do my best to make sure it happens the way I want it to.”

On having difficulty getting fights: “Lately, in order to be a UFC fighter, you have to be very patient. It’s hard to get a fight because this guy only wants to fight that guy and so forth. And I was raised fighting whomever is in front of me. I never turned down the opponents that were put in front of me. It was a complicated situation. I told my manager I wanted to try to fight in the upper division, that if it was up to me I’d try to get a fight there, because it was hard to get an opponent that made sense. I tried fighting other opponents in the upper division, when some people got hurt. None of it happened and I was a little frustrated, but the fight with Raphael was one that I wanted all along. The opportunity came up and I said yes, like I always do.”

On what the UFC could have done to fix the jam-up at the top of the weight divisions: “The moment that the champion decided to go down a division, there should be a title fight. Because, usually, champions – both in boxing and in the UFC – they go to the division above to challenge themselves, and not the lower one. I think, since you’re fighting someone smaller than you, it’s a smaller challenge. So I don’t think you’re looking to challenge yourself. So I think the interim belt should have come in the picture and I think both Raphael and I would be the main names to be in that fight. It’s a rematch between two guys who are living the best moments of the division. Both of us are coming off 11 wins in 12 fights. I’m coming off good fights – knockouts against top guys. I think it would make total sense.”

On a possible title shot if he beats Assuncao: “I don’t go into it with this thought. I fight to be champion. I want to be the champion and I’m pursuing that. But, honestly, I don’t want to cling to that. I want to go in there, to prove I’m better and win this fight.”