Marlon Moraes expects to finish Brendan Loughnane at PFL 1 and prove he’s still “one of the best in the world”

Marlon Moraes still believes he can be a world champion.

After Moraes lost his fourth fight in a row to Song Yadong, he announced his retirement from MMA. Yet, not even a year later, he unretired and signed with PFL to face Sheymon Moraes last November where he ultimately suffered a third-round knockout loss.

Although Moraes had retired, he said he still felt like he could compete at a high level which is why he signed with PFL.

“I still felt like I could compete. Why not try a new beginning and fight for a good promotion like PFL? New goals and that is how I feel right now,” Moraes said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “I restarted my career with the PFL, it didn’t go my way. But, I felt great. I felt very good energy and strong, faster, I just got caught. I have another fight coming up and I have to fix the mistakes and come back stronger and ready. I’ve got a tough opponent, a good opponent, he had a great run last season and I’m ready to face him.”

Although Moraes lost his PFL debut, it was just a fight to stay active as he was always going to be in the 2023 featherweight season. In his first fight of the season, he will headline PFL 1 against Brendan Loughnane who is last year’s champ which Moraes is excited about.

“It’s always good to be the main event of the evening, be headlining a card, especially for PFL, PFL is growing so much,” Moraes said. “I can’t wait to see PFL as high as they can and I’m here to fight and give everything I have to make them succeed…

“I’m excited about this matchup, I have an intriguing style for him. I’m excited to go out there and show what I can do against a guy like him,” Moraes added. “We are going to put on an interesting fight and it will be the best fight of the night for sure.”

Entering the fight against Brendan Loughnane, Marlon Moraes is looking to snap his five-fight losing skid. Although he knows it will be a tough fight, he is confident he has all the tools to beat Loughnane.

“Durable guy, but nobody is unbeatable, nobody is unfinishable. Let’s go out there and try to be the first one to finish him,” Moraes said.

Should Moraes defeat Loughnane on Saturday, he knows it will be a massive win for his career. The Brazilian believes it will prove he is one of the best featherweights alive and would send a message to the rest of the division that he is the frontrunner to win it all.

“One of the best in the world. I believe Brendan is one of the best fighters in the world. When you beat Brendan, you are one of the best in the world,” Moraes said. “He’s a very good fighter, a hard guy to beat so to be on his level means you are one of the best in the world.”

Do you think Marlon Moraes will beat Brendan Loughnane?