Marlon Moraes

ANALYSIS
Moraes was a former champion in WSOF (now known as PFL) before crossing over to the UFC for a relatively successful run. While he lost his debut to Raphael Assuncao, he went on to win four fights in row and avenge that loss, which led to a battle with Henry Cejudo for the vacant bantamweight belt. Moraes was finished in the third round of that fight, but rebounded with a controversial split decision win over Jose Aldo. It was all downhill from there, however, as Moraes proceeded to lose four consecutive fights via KO/TKO, with all of those losses occurring within the first two rounds. The chin simply isn't what it used to be, and aging fighters tend to fade quicker in the lower weight classes. Moraes was still ranked for much of his UFC run, and would likely contend for a belt in many of the smaller promotions, but he'll elect to hang up the gloves -- at least for the time being. It's not necessarily uncommon for fighters with early retirements to get the itch to return a few years down the road, but it's unclear if the opportunity will be there with the UFC.

ANALYSIS
The UFC decided to give Moraes another chance despite the fact he entered having suffered three straight knockout losses. And, well, it didn't work out. Before his arrival in the UFC back in June 2017, Moraes was widely viewed as the best fighter not under contract with the company. He suffered a tough split decision defeat against Raphael Assuncao in his company debut. He then won four straight before it all fell apart. In what will presumably be his final half dozen fights with the UFC, Moraes went 1-5, and the lone victory was a split decision against Jose Aldo in which Aldo deserved to win. It's nearly impossible to pinpoint what exactly went wrong for the Brazilian other than the fact his durability appeared to evaporate in an instant. Moraes looks like a shell of his former self and it's difficult to see him having any sort of success regardless of which organization he is competing in.

ANALYSIS
Moraes was handed a six-month medical suspension for the hand and thumb injuries he suffered in his second-round TKO defeat against Merab Dvalishvili in late September, though he's apparently been cleared to return slightly before that time elapses. That loss represented his third consecutive defeat, with all three losses coming prior to the end of the second round, so he'll be in desperate need of a bounceback against Song. Song has been in much better form of late, however, bouncing back from a loss to Kyler Phillips in March to end the year with a pair of victories and improving his UFC record to 7-1-1.

ANALYSIS
Moraes will need to have his right hand and left thumb cleared by an orthopedic doctor or be unable to fight again until late March. He lost via TKO to Merab Dvalishvili last weekend as a healthy underdog.

ANALYSIS
It's a disastrous result for Moraes, and one that came in mind-numbing fashion. Entering as a healthy +215 underdog, Moraes had this fight won, only he wasn't able to close the show. He destroyed Merab in the early going, landing countless power shots that would have floored any mere mortal. Dvalishvili was on auto-pilot, but somehow managed to survive. It was academic from there, as Moraes had clearly gassed himself out seeking the finish and was in no position to defend himself the rest of the way. Quite frankly, Moraes deserves credit for lasting as long as he did in Round 2 considering he generated zero offense of his own. Once viewed as arguably the best fighter not under contract with the UFC, Moraes' run with the company has been a disaster. He won four of his first five fights, but has since dropped four of his last five. Now on a three-fight losing streak, the UFC might elect to cut bait.