Marlon Moraes has a chance for redemption this weekend when he rematches Raphael Assuncao at UFC Fight Night 144 in Fortaleza, Brazil. The two fought to a close split decision in 2017 that saw Assuncao get the nod. This time, the stakes are raised as a shot at the bantamweight title is on the line.
Moraes started training muay Thai at the age of 7, so naturally he favors Thai-style kicking attacks, but he also has his fair share of taekwondo and kickboxing-style strikes. His favorite kick is a Thai switch where he will lean far back at the waist while keeping his lead hand stretched out to defend and set the range. “Magic” also uses taekwondo spinning-back and tornado kicks to keep opponents guessing, but his bread and butter is the switch kick, which he has finished four fights with. The only problem with his leg strikes is that he rarely sets them up or follows them up with a combo. This has worked for him thus far, but he would have more success if he pumped a jab out or threw some punches afterwards.
As a muay Thai striker, Moraes relies heavily on his leg kicks, albeit not as much inside the Octagon. In his World Series of Fighting days, the Brazilian finished two bouts with leg kicks and was constantly looking to punt the opponent’s legs out from underneath them. He had some success with his low kicks in the first bout against Assuncao, landing 15 of 17, and I expect him to attack the legs routinely in the rematch.
Moraes is known for his leading attacks, but he has much more success working on the counter. Instead of the standard retreating and intercepting counters, he uses an advanced strategy of countering, where he will pressure his opponents to the cage with footwork while throwing strikes. Just as his opponent gets overwhelmed with the pressure and attempts to engage, “Magic” will slip just out of the way and land a counter, like above. This is a cunning tactic, as it seems to his foes that Moraes is coming in hot and heavy when he’s really backing them down with nothing other than footwork, feints and the occasional blow. This is often called pressure countering and is a common tactic among elite nak muays.
Most of Moraes’ success in the first fight with Assuncao came when working on the counter, especially his lead hook. Assuncao is usually very good at using feints and filler strikes to set up his combos, but in this fight, he was throwing single strikes with no setups and paid the price for it.
Moraes doesn't go to the ground often, but he has been training in jiu-jitsu since he was 15 and earned a black belt under grappling legend Ricardo Almeida. He also has five submission victories on his record, with the most recent being achieved in 2015.