Jimmie Rivera denies Marlon Moraes fight offer, eyes another fight

On Saturday, surging UFC bantamweight contender and former World Series of Fighting champion Marlon Moraes took to Twitter to share a signed bout agreement for a fight with fellow contender Jimmie Rivera.

Here you go @JimmieRivera135 I signed my bout agreement. @ufc on fox. I also agreed to fight you on march 3rd choose what day you want me to beat your ass B-I-T-C-H @seanshelby @danawhite @AliAbdelaziz00 pic.twitter.com/nrU8WTjacF

— Marlon Moraes (@MMARLONMORAES) January 6, 2018

“Here you go [Jimmie Rivera], I signed my bout agreement. [UFC] on Fox. I also agreed to fight you on March 3rd, choose what day you want me to beat your ass B-I-T-C-H.”

While Rivera has no doubt seen this Tweet from Moraes, he says he has not yet seen a bout offer from the UFC.

“Last thing [that] was spoken to [UFC matchmaker] Sean [Shelby] was a possible fight with Cody [Garbrandt],” Rivera told FanSided’s Amy Kaplan on Saturday when asked if he’d received an offer for a battle with Moraes.

This of course, is in keeping with a recent Tweet from Rivera, in which he expressed interest in a fight with the former champ Cody Garbrandt.

. @Cody_Nolove says he healthy, let’s put a show on for the fans. He wants to defend his spot and I want to take it. @seanshelby @ufc

— Jimmie Rivera (@JimmieRivera135) January 4, 2018

Since joining the UFC fold in early 2017, Moraes has gone 2-1, first losing a close decision to Raphael Assuncao, then defeating John Dodson by decision, and most recently, crushing Aljamain Sterling with an insane knee. He’s 20-5-1 overall.

Rivera, meanwhile, boasts one of the best records in the UFC, at 21-1. Since joining the promotion, he’s bested Marcus Brimage, Pedro Munhoz, Iuri Alcantara, Urijah Faber, and most recently, Thomas Almeida.

Does a fight between Jimmie Rivera and Marlon Moraes interest you, or would you prefer to see Rivera battle Garbrandt?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 1/7/2018.