In a Stunning Turn of Events, Rising Bantamweight Star Marlon Moraes Knocked out Jimmie Rivera With a Violent First Round Finish…
What’s the most effective way to become a star in the UFC? Knock people out. Marlon Moraes is doing just that. He’s just added a brutal shin kick KO to his highlight reel, finishing Jimmie Rivera after just 33 seconds of their fight at UFC Utica.
One of the biggest criticisms of the lower weight divisions is that while fighters tend to be technically excellent, their fights don’t result in as many knockouts. Moraes seems to be on a one-man mission to put that record to rights. He stole the show, winning a performance of the night bonus for his efforts in New York State.
Spare a thought for Rivera, who has joined the ranks of the unluckiest men in the game. He was meant to fight Dominick Cruz on December 30, missing Christmas and Thanksgiving. However, that fight fell through and it took months of negotiation for an agreement with Moraes to be made. Only for him to get knocked into another dimension.
HOW BOUT THAT UTICA!!!!! @MMarlonMoraes ends it with a stunner!#UFCUtica pic.twitter.com/wy27Oa4ODC
— UFC (@ufc) June 2, 2018
Headkick
This is Moraes’s second performance of the night in a row. In his previous fight, he knocked out Aljamain Sterling with a vicious knee, leaving the Jamaican unconscious for a worrying period of time. ‘Magic’ is on his way to becoming a box office star.
He beat Rivera before the fight even had a chance to get started. Rivera is a stocky strong fighter, with KO power in his fists. Moraes smacked ‘El Terror’ on the side of the head with a violent kick, dropping him to the floor. Then it was just a matter of ground and pound and it was all over.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Y_UI6CAv8
Win Streak
This is the Brazilian’s third win in a row. Although he lost his UFC debut against Rafael Assuncao by split decision, he has rebounded dramatically to beat John Dodson, Sterling and Rivera to send a message to the top of the division.
The winner of T.J Dillashaw vs Cody Garbrandt in August will be keeping an eye on him. A title shot is definitely possible after this vicious finish. However, a fight with the likes of Dominick Cruz might happen first, if he can ever get himself fit enough to get back in the octagon.
Post-Fight
At the end of the night, there were some shenanigans between Rivera and Moraes’s camps. Rivera has issues with Ali Abdelaziz, the manager of Moraes. The Puerto Rican alleges that Abdelaziz made comments on his wife in the past. In March he said:
“It’s his manager who I f***ing hate. His manager’s a douchebag, called my wife a b**ch when we were in Las Vegas. I think a lot of the things he says and does are from his manager.”
Rivera’s plan was to get revenge by knocking out Moraes. Unfortunately for him, that didn’t end too well. At the end of the day though, the crowd were happy. With good reason too, because that was one of the finishes of the year so far.
