Issue 128
May 2015
Quitting Brazil for the US was a risk, but WSOF’s Marlon Moraes reveals how it helped him to realize his dreams of becoming a world champion
As he turns off the New Jersey Turnpike, onto Interstate 195, making his way to Ricardo Almeida Jiu-Jitsu on a balmy February morning, Marlon Moraes squints as the climbing sun shines brightly around his car’s visor. The World Series of Fighting bantamweight champion pulls over to refuel and takes a moment to collect his thoughts.
Leaning up against his car as he pumps his gas, dark sunglasses hanging on the bridge of his nose, the 26-year-old stirs across the traffic to the charming green scenery surrounding Indian Lake in Robbinsville, New Jersey. Moraes can’t help but allow a smile to break across his face. He can’t believe how far he’s come in such a short space of time.
Like many immigrants who traveled to the US to pursue their dreams, Marlon’s story began somewhere far away. He grew up living in Nova Friburgo, Brazil, only 85 miles northeast of Rio de Janeiro.
Although Moraes is quick to stress the city he grew up in is a beautiful place, he simply wasn’t satisfied staying at home. Moraes wanted to achieve more than his native city could provide.
Like many Brazilian children who grew up in the late ‘90s, Moraes had dreams of becoming a professional athlete and representing his country at the highest level. However, while most kids his age were infatuated by soccer superstars like Ronaldo and Rivaldo, Moraes’ aspirations involved competing in combat sports.
“I started martial arts when I was seven years old. I began doing Muay Thai while I was still in Brazil,” he tells FO in an exclusive interview. “A friend of mine was training and she invited me to come with her and try it out. I fell in love with it after my first session. Six months later, I competed in my first competition.
“I didn’t know how good I was because all I’d done over the six months was train, but I still went out there and fought. My opponent was a little heavier than me, but I fought hard and beat him. It was a good three-round fight and I fell in love with the sport and competition.”
Moraes spent his formative years competing on the national Muay Thai circuit, winning two national championships.
However, his eagerness for competition caused him to gravitate towards the emerging world of mixed martial arts.
During the first few years of his career, he spent his time fighting on the Brazilian MMA scene. However, a lack of income and the company he kept meant Moraes was close to calling it quits.
“I was in Brazil competing in MMA but it’s kind of hard to survive with just the sport providing your income. I was facing hard times in my life and I needed to decide what I wanted to do,” he recalls.
“This sport is crazy because one day you’re on top of the world and the next you’re at the bottom. I also had some people around me who kept my confidence down and so, at that time, I didn’t know if I’d ever make it.
“But, now I’m in America, I know that I can do it. I’ve got the right people around me and the right friends. I know what I’m going to do and what I can do now. I’m not sad anymore, I’m just happy because life has shown who’s with me and who isn’t.”
With little more than a bag full of clothes, some saved cash and a dream to be the best 135lb’er in the world, Moraes set off on the 4,227-mile trip from Nova Friburgo to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
But he didn’t leave Brazil alone. His then girlfriend, now his wife, Izabella, also left everything behind in Brazil. And, according to Moraes, she’s been one of the main reasons behind his success.
“She’s my best friend, you know,” he shrugs. “She’s helped me fight for everything in our life and has supported me in everything I do. She had good work in Brazil but she came here to live my dream.
“So every day I go to the gym and I think about that and it makes me give my best. When you see me in the cage, I’m looking for my wife and my son (Rafael). I know that I’ve got someone to look for when I win and somebody that I’ve got to win for other than myself.”
Initially, despite the promise of more opportunities for his burgeoning fighting career, things didn’t go as smoothly as Moraes would’ve liked. In his first year in the US the Brazilian’s record was 3-2, which included back-to-back submission defeats.
Yet just when his career seemed to be on the slide, he was signed by a new Las Vegas-based promotion, World Series of Fighting, for its inaugural show in 2012. He was handed the opportunity of a lifetime.
Matched up against former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres, Moraes was a significant underdog. Yet once they started to trade punches, Moraes proved he was more than a match for the one-time pound-for-pound star. He used his slick Muay Thai to earn a split-decision victory and catapult himself into the consciousness of fans around the world.
“Beating Miguel Torres was a great moment for me,” he recalls. “I was really young when I had that fight, but I’d been training since I was a child. Beating Miguel Torres was my opportunity to see whether or not I could really do this. I trained hard and I was able to win the fight.
“I may have been the underdog, but in my mind that was a good thing. I learned so much from that fight, and since that fight I’ve been even better and I’m continuing to try and be much better.”
Not only did his breakthrough performance impress fans and the WSOF, but Mark Henry, head boxing coach to former UFC 155lb champ Frankie Edgar and Edson Barboza, also took notice. He brought Moraes to New Jersey to be a sparring partner for Edgar’s rematch with Benson Henderson at UFC 150 and the Brazilian hasn’t looked back since.
“He’s a great coach, a smart guy and he understands the game. He’s a boxing coach but he really gets into wrestling. He loves wrestling, jiu-jitsu; he knows what we have to do to get better. He knows we’ve got to be good everywhere, so I’m trying to follow his advice.
“As for training with Frankie and Edson, it kind of sucks. I keep on getting beat up every day,” Moraes laughs. “Seriously, those guys are great and it’s always tough training. The way we fight and the way we compete with each other means everyone is getting better.
“I’m getting better and so are they. If you really want to be the best you’ve got to find the best and train with them. Every day I look up to them and try to be as good as they are.”
Riding a nine-fight win streak and with the WSOF world title belt wrapped around his waist, Moraes is truly living the American Dream. He traveled north with the goal of being the best and he’s proving to be just that.
He’s accomplished more in his young 14-4-1 career than most fighters ever achieve, yet he still has the hunger to improve and his career ambitions are growing bigger. As he climbs back into his car en route to another day of practice, Moraes’ next career goal is simple.
“I want to be the best in the world,” he says. “I want to keep on improving so I can reach my goal. I feel it getting closer and I’m ready to fight anybody to prove it. My main goal in five years is simply to be the best in the world. That is what I’ll achieve and no one will stop me from doing it.”
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