Marlon Moraes

By FCF Staff

Although WSOF bantamweight champ Marlon Moraes will face Cody Bollinger in a 140 pound catchweight bout on September 13th, the renowned fighter is insisting his title is on the line.

Bollinger is stepping in for the injured Josh Hill, and since he’s doing so on such short notice, the contest will not be at 135. In a follow up press release from the promotion, however, here is what Moraes had to say about what’s on the line at WSOF 13:

“I don’t know how we can make it official, but as far as I’m concerned, this is a title fight,” said Moraes.  “Anytime I’m fighting, I’m fighting as a champion and I’m defending my belt.  I don’t know how everybody else will see it but, to me, this is my next title fight and, if Cody wins, I’ll send him my belt.  If I’m going to be a champion, I have to beat everybody I fight.”

The statements prompted WSOF President Ray Sefo and matchmaker Ali Abdelaziz to say:

“I thought Moraes vs. Hill was going to be an incredible championship fight, but this new pairing might better,” Sefo said. “Marlon isn’t exactly Cody’s biggest fan, and Marlon guaranteed me he was going to knock Cody out. Meanwhile, Cody didn’t hesitate for one moment when he was given the opportunity to step in on just 10 days’ notice, proving what a warrior he really is at heart.

“Now with Marlon promising to put his belt on the line despite fighting at 140 pounds, I think this fight just got even more interesting.”

“Cody simply can’t make 135 pounds in a little more than a week, but he’s confident he can beat Marlon, and that’s why he took this fight,” Abdelaziz furthered. “And honestly, I think Marlon offering to put his title on the line anyway shows what an incredible champion he is. I’ve been telling everyone for a while now, I think Marlon Moraes is the best bantamweight fighter in the world. I think he can beat anybody in the world at 135 pounds – anybody.  Now he’s proving that he has the true heart of a champion, as well, willingly moving up in weight for this challenge and promising to put his belt on the line, anyway. It’s incredible.”

WSOF 13 will be hosted by the Sands Bethlehem Event Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and the main card will be broadcast on the NBC Sports Network.