LAS VEGAS – UFC bantamweight title challenger Marlon Moraes gets mildly irritated at what he perceives to be a cover story that brought him to a title shot.
Don’t get him wrong, he’s happy to take advantage and fight for the belt. But he wishes his colleagues would be a little more honest about what’s really going on.
Take, for example, former champion T.J. Dillashaw. Although he removed a potential barrier to Moraes’ advancement when he gave up the belt to defend an anti-doping charge, there wasn’t anything altruistic about it, according to Moraes.
“No (expletive) way,” Moraes blurted Wednesday during an interview with reporters at the UFC Performance Institute. “That’s his move, and that’s the part I don’t like about the whole situation. He’s trying to trick the fans and tell everybody he did this because he’s a great guy and wants to see the division flowing. Of course not.
“He was away forever. He never said yes to fighting me, and he’s just tricking the fans. But I think everybody saw that. He came up with a notice in the morning. He was just anticipating what the UFC and (U.S. Anti-Doping Agency) was going to do later on.”
Dillashaw (16-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) remains a great fighter in Moraes’ opinion. Even with a possible anti-doping suspension hanging over the ex-champ’s head, Moraes (22-5 MMA, 4-1 UFC) said there’s nothing about his skills in the octagon that can be tarnished by punishment.
“He’s good everywhere, so people hate,” Moraes said. “And everybody is saying this is just because he got caught. Ah, he’s (expletive). Then win the championship and see if that’s easy.
“He’s one of the best in the world. I don’t care what he says happened to him. Skills-wise, he’s a very good fighter. And one day, we’re going to meet.”
But that day is a little ways off. For now, it’s Henry Cejudo, whom he meets June 8 at United Center in Chicago.
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