Marlon Moraes calls out Dominick Cruz after losing Petr Yan fight

Marlon Moraes has his eyes set on Dominick Cruz.

Moraes was originally supposed to fight Petr Yan at UFC Kazakhstan on June 13. Yet, the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian will now be fighting Jose Aldo for the vacant bantamweight title.

With Yan now booked against Aldo, it left Moraes without an opponent so he’s interested in fighting the former champion in Cruz.

Hey @DominickCruz call @seanshelby and let’s fight! Pick a day and let’s go

— Marlon Moraes (@MMARLONMORAES) May 31, 2020

“Hey @DominickCruz call @seanshelby and let’s fight! Pick a day and let’s go,” Moraes tweeted.

A fight between Moraes and Cruz does make sense given the state of the bantamweight division. Aljamain Sterling and Cory Sandhagen are set to fight at UFC 250 where it seems likely the winner will receive a title shot. Cody Garbrandt and Raphael Assuncao are also competing against one another this weekend, so Cruz is the next best thing for the Brazilian.

Marlon Moraes returned to the win column back at UFC 245. There, he earned a split decision win over Jose Aldo in the legends first fight at 135-pounds. Before that, he suffered a TKO loss to Henry Cejudo for the vacant belt.

Moraes is currently ranked as the number one contender at bantamweight and could very well be one win away from the belt. In his career, he has notable wins over Jimmie Rivera, Aljamain Sterling, Raphael Assuncao, and John Dodson among others.

Dominick Cruz, meanwhile, returned to the Octagon after three and a half years away at UFC 249. There, he lost by second-round TKO to Cejudo. Before that, he lost his bantamweight title by decision to Cody Garbrandt at UFC 207.

Since the loss to Cejudo, Cruz confirmed he would fight again. So, if he wants another crack at winning back his belt a fight against Moraes makes sense. Should it happen, the winner could very well earn a title shot.

Would you be interested in seeing Marlon Moraes vs. Dominick Cruz?