Marlon Moraes calls Cejudo’s defeat of Dillashaw ‘a fluke’

UFC flyweight champion Henry Cejudo has some incredible victories on his resume, most notably a decision defeat of Demetrious Johnson and a knockout win over TJ Dillashaw. Yet Cejudo’s UFC 238 opponent Marlon Moraes’ considers that latter victory a bit of a fluke.

Speaking on a recent episode of MMA Junkie Radio, Moraes gave his assessment of Cejudo’s 28-second defeat of Dillashaw. He says he believes Dillashaw has the style to beat Cejudo, but that things simply went Cejudo’s way on the night of the fight.

“We all got holes and matchups make champions and I think Henry Cejudo is a great matchup for me,” Marlon Moraes said. “I’m very confident in all I see him doing in the cage. Of course, he beat a legend, Demetrious Johnson. He beat, in my opinion, another guy that can be a legend in the future – T.J. Dillashaw, he’s a great martial artist.

“But we didn’t get to see much his last fight. I think T.J. got what you need to beat Henry. I think it was a fluke, it was just a matter (of) day. That was Henry’s day. But I worked hard. I’m well prepared for this fight. And I don’t want no flukes. I’m going out there. Perform, perform well and win. And leave no doubt who’s the best 135-pounder now.”

UFC 238 goes down this Saturday. When Henry Cejudo and Marlon Moraes collide in the card’s main event, the UFC bantamweight strap will be on the line. The bantamweight title was previously owned by TJ Dillashaw, but he was recently stripped after testing positive for EPO.

Moraes will look to capture UFC gold for the first time, while Cejudo will look to join the pantheon of UFC stars to hold titles in two divisions concurrently.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 6/3/2019.