MMA Preview – Henry Cejudo vs Marlon Moraes at UFC 238
THE FACTS
When is UFC 238? Sunday 9th June, 2019 – 01:00 (UK)
Where is UFC 238? United Center, Chicago, Illinois
What channel is UFC 238? BT Sport 1
Where can I stream UFC 238? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT website
For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live and you can take advantage of a free trial with ESPN+ and subscribe now by clicking here!
Are tickets still available for UFC 238? http://uk.ufc.com/event-ticket-info?utm_source=ufc&utm_medium=tab&utm_campaign=tickets
THE STATISTICS
THE LOWDOWN
The disgraced former bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw will be looking on from the sidelines as Henry Cejudo moves up and looks to snatch his belt fresh off knocking him out in their flyweight title fight. However, Marlon Moraes has other ideas and hopes to prevent him from becoming a two-division champion after carving through the top contenders in the division.
Cejudo is enjoying a whirlwind of attention and accolades at the moment. After shocking the world by scraping a decision in his rematch with the imperious champion and pound-for-pound king Demetrious Johnson, he managed to set up a super fight with TJ Dillashaw and shocked the world again by knocking him out in the first round. Now, the Olympic gold medallist is reaping the rewards and earned another title fight but this time for the vacant bantamweight championship.
Standing in his way is the legitimate number one contender and surging star Moraes who has only lost once in his last 18 fights. After losing a split decision to Raphael Assuncao on his UFC debut, he bounced back with a hard-fought split decision of his own over John Dodson. Moraes then begun to light up the division by kneeing Aljamain Sterling and head kicking Jimmie Rivera into a different dimension before avenging his loss to Assuncao by knocking him down and brilliantly setting up a guillotine.
THE PREDICTION
Both fighters have been improving at a dramatic rate and we should expect them to be an even more polished version of themselves. After dethroning Johnson and knocking out Dillashaw in 32 seconds, Cejudo will back himself and his newly adopted karate style to outclass Moraes on the feet.
However, this confidence may work against him. Johnson fought with an injured knee for the majority of the bout and Dillashaw was incredibly depleted going into his fight whereas Moraes is a monster on the feet. He is a high-level black belt in Muay Thai and is devastating with all eight limbs so Cejudo should call upon his wrestling as a plan A.
He will back his striking but any taste of adversity and Cejudo will look to get his hands on Moraes. However, the Brazilian is also a monster on the floor and man-handled Assuncao – a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu – and set up a guillotine so he will be very dangerous on the mat.
Cejudo needs to control the fight by clinching up, timing takedowns and catching leg kicks as he did against Johnson. If Moraes can avoid the takedown or use his Jiu-Jitsu to help him separate or get back to his feet he can force the stand-up battle where he has the power, speed and importantly the composure to seriously trouble Cejudo.
As long as Moraes respects Cejudo’s striking and paces himself he will find opportunities to hurt him on the feet and based on his recent performances, we could easily see another finish.
Winner: Moraes via KO/TKO
Striking and grappling stats sourced via FightMetric
