Marlon Moraes

Marlon 'Magic' Moraes is a Brazilian striker who rose from regional dominance to UFC title contention. He cut his teeth in Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu before becoming the inaugural World Series of Fighting bantamweight champion, going 11-0 in the promotion and defending the belt five times. By the time he reached the UFC in 2017, he was already regarded as one of the best 135-pounders outside the Octagon.

Moraes announced himself fast. After a debut loss to Raphael Assuncao, he ripped off four straight wins, including a knee-strike knockout of Aljamain Sterling and a 33-second head-kick finish of Jimmie Rivera that snapped Rivera's long unbeaten run. That surge earned him a shot at the vacant bantamweight title against Henry Cejudo in 2019, where he was stopped in the third round after a strong start. A split-decision win over Jose Aldo later that year would prove to be his last.

From there the level of competition and the wear of a long career caught up with him. Moraes lost his final string of fights by knockout or TKO against the division's surging contenders and retired in 2023 with a 23-13-1 record. He is remembered as a technically gorgeous striker whose best nights produced some of the most violent finishes the bantamweight division has seen.