Marlon Moraes: I’m the best bantamweight on the planet right now

Bloodyelbow.com

Marlon Moraes believes he is the best bantamweight around at the moment, and nothing else makes sense for the number-one contender other than a fight with the division’s champion, T.J. Dillashaw.

Moraes (22-5-1) is on a four-fight winning streak after avenging his loss to Raphael Assuncao in their rematch earlier this month, with “Magic” picking up a first-round submission win. The former WSOF bantamweight champion knocked out Jimmie Rivera and Aljamain Sterling in a combined time of just 70-seconds before his most recent win.

With Dillashaw keen on securing a rematch with Henry Cejudo, whom he lost to by first-round knockout in January, Moraes told MMA Fighting why he thinks he should be next in line for Dillashaw.

“I think it’s logical,” Moraes said. “Cejudo fights Joseph Benavidez, and I fight Dillashaw, and the winners may meet each other. It makes a lot of sense. It’s not good for Dillashaw, but it’s good for me, and it’s a good scenario for the UFC. I think I’ve done enough, everybody wants to fight one day for the title, but people don’t want to take the hard way.

Moraes claimed that prior to his rematch with Assuncao, UFC president Dana White said the fight would result in the top contender to challenge for Dillashaw’s belt at 135-pounds. Meanwhile, Dillashaw’s plans of getting a rematch with Cejudo at flyweight are frustrating Moraes.

“Even Dana said when he was promoting my fight with Assuncao, this fight’s going to get a clear cut contender for the 135-pound division, and now he has a clear cut [contender]. And man, come on, ‘I want to go down, I want to go up, I want to stay, I want to do this and that,’ come on. He’s the champion. He has to do what the fans want to see, and he has to do what the UFC wants him to do.”

The Brazilian concluded by saying that although Dillashaw may currently be the bantamweight champion, Moraes feels he should be the champion at the moment because of his recent wins.

“My friend, he’s a champion on paper, but I am the best 135er on the planet, and nobody can deny that,” he says. “That belt should be around my waist, because I earned it and I fought, and I didn’t lose. I won. The champion should be the one that won the last fought. I’m the best 135er on the planet right now.”