Marlon Moraes announces return from retirement, signs with PFL for 2023 season
The retirement for one of the most electric fighters in the sport has ended. Former UFC bantamweight title challenger Marlon Moraes announced on Thursday that he will be returning to active competition and signing with the Professional Fighters League for the 2023 season.
Brett Okamoto of ESPN was first to report the news of Marlon Moraes’ return and move to PFL, citing his manager Ali Abdelaziz who added that not all details are finalized as of yet. One important note that was reported however is that Moraes is expected to compete at 145 pounds in PFL’s featherweight division, making a jump up from when he competed in the UFC’s bantamweight division.
Marlon Moraes (@MMARLONMORAES) is very close to signing a new deal with PFL, per his manager Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00). Some of the details still coming together, but Moraes' return to the sport looks imminent. Per Abdelaziz, his plan is to compete at 145 pounds.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) September 16, 2022
Marlon Moraes himself would go on to announce the news later on Thursday, saying that he is coming home as the former UFC standout also competed in World Series of Fighting, which has ties to what is now known as PFL. During his time with the World Series of Fighting, Moraes would go 11-0 in the promotion, winning the bantamweight title, and defended it five times during his run.
Following his time with WSOF, Moraes signed with the UFC in 2017 where he would drop a split-decision loss in his promotional debut.
Guys I wanna announce I’m coming home where I started, I wanna thank the legend Ray Sefo & @PFLMMA get ready for some firework
— Marlon Moraes (@MMARLONMORAES) September 16, 2022
Following a four-fight losing streak to some of the top contenders in the UFC’s bantamweight division, the 34-year old Moraes announced his retirement from the sport back in April. Before his losing skid, Moraes picked up notable wins over former featherweight champion Jose Aldo and had a highlight-reel knockout of reigning UFC bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling.
The addition of Marlon Moraes now becomes the third former UFC fighter and contender to make the jump over to the PFL, as former UFC featherweight Shane Burgos recently joined the promotion, as did former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Thiago Santos.
After approximately five months of retirement, Marlon Moraes will now prepare to compete in the 2023 PFL season at a new weight class, with his eyes on the grand prize of $1 million and a world title.
