Magic No More: Ex-UFC Title Challenger Retires After 7th Straight Knockout Loss

"Magic" Marlon Moraes has announced his retirement from mixed martial arts (MMA) following his seventh straight knockout loss at PFL 4 on June 8. Moraes'  downfall marks one of the biggest falls from grace in modern MMA history.

Moraes looked like a world-beater during his run at the UFC featherweight title from 2017 to 2019. His impressive three-fight finishing streak over the likes of the future bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, Jimmie Rivera, and Raphael Assuncao, positioned him as a formidable title challenger. 

This outstanding performance granted him the opportunity to challenge Henry Cejudo for the UFC featherweight championship, a bout which would set in motion the end of his career.

It was a competitive bout, but Moraes would lose by TKO in the third round. Following this Moraes won a razor thin split decision to former bantamweight champion José Aldo. Fifty percent of media members scored the bout for Aldo, and even Dana White himself remarked that Aldo had won; this was the least of Moraes' concerns.

Moraes went on to drop four straight knockouts to a killers-row of fighters in the UFC. Cory Sandhagen rocked Moraes with a spinning hook kick before finishing him on the ground, Rob Font dropped him with a jab and secured a TKO, Merab Dvalishvili overcame adversity and took Moraes into deep waters, finishing him in round two, and Yadong Song KO'd Moraes with a flush uppercut combination.

A glimmer of hope came for Moraes' fans as the Brazilian fighter announced his move to the Professional Fighter's League (PFL), but the results were no different. Moraes was finished three more times in an even more dominant fashion.

Whether age or too-quick turnarounds played a major factor in Moraes incredible downfall, one thing is for certain, the sport of MMA has no mercy, and your favorite fighters don't always get fairytale endings (unless their name is GSP).