In a matter of days, Marlon Moraes will take part in the fight of his life when he battles Henry Cejudo for the vacant UFC bantamweight championship at UFC 238 in Chicago, Illinois. What you may not know about this high-level main event, though, is that Moraes will be entering the fight with a secret weapon that has already been used to neutralize Henry Cejudo’s offense before the war even begins (Transcript via Bloody Elbow):
“I’m expecting a heavy wrestling-oriented game plan from Cejudo, but I’m ready. I’m more ready than ever,” Moraes said in an interview with Portal do Vale Tudo. “I’m coming into this fight with a strong desire to become a champion. I trained very hard and my time has come. It’s my time to become the champion.”
And that secret weapon that is no longer a secret? You may have heard of him:
“Frankie Edgar was essential in my training camp for this fight,” Moraes disclosed “We have been training together a lot, his MMA wrestling is very strong. I intend to make use of all of its qualities, implement them into my arsenal and walk out of there a champion.”
As it happens, Frankie Edgar is also training for a world title fight, as Edgar will be challenging Max Holloway for the featherweight championship next month at UFC 240, so the training arrangement between Moraes and Edgar is a mutually beneficial one in which both fighters hope to meet gold at the end of the process:
“He is scheduled to fight Max (Holloway) at UFC 240,” Moraes said. “It’s going to be a tough fight, but Frankie is ready to fight anyone, and we are ready to surprise people. Frankie will impose his gameplan and we will both get the belts. I’ll get mine on the 8th and Frankie will snatch his on the 27th.”
Who do you believe will be crowned a champion at the conclusion of their next fights: Marlon Moraes, Frankie Edgar, or both?
