After recovering from a case of COVID-19, former UFC bantamweight title challenger Marlon Moraes is ready to get back into action. Per Combate’s report, ‘Magic’ already has his return lined up for October, when a fight against fellow top contender Cory Sandhagen is scheduled to happen.
In his last outing, Marlon Moraes (23-6-1) edged out former featherweight champion Jose Aldo via a narrow split decision win, back in December 2019. Before that, the 32-year-old was TKO’d by then title-holder Henry Cejudo, when the Brazilian challenged for the bantamweight belt in June of the same year.
Cory Sandhagen (12-2) suffered his first ever UFC loss in his last showing, back in June, when he got tapped out by Aljamain Sterling only 88 seconds into the first round of their fight. Before the loss, the 28-year-old was on a five-fight winning streak in the Octagon, with victories over Austin Arnett, Iuri Alcantara, Mario Bautista, John Lineker and Raphael Assuncao.
Prior to this news, Moraes had announced that the UFC had offered him a fight with former bantamweight champion (and fellow Dominance MMA client) Cody Garbrandt. However, Garbrandt has since stated he is interested in fighting current UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo.
Now, Marlon Moraes is expected to meet Cory Sandhagen at UFC Fight Night 181, on October 10, in a location yet to be determined. A headliner for the card is yet to be announced by the promotion.