Born: April 26, 1988 (Age: 34) in Rio de Janeiro
Division: Featherweight
Height: 5’6”
Reach: 66.5”
Record: 23-11-1 (0-1 PFL) Association: American Top Team
Stage of Career: Post-Prime/Twilight
Summary: Moraes illustrates the incredibly high-skilled and
demanding nature of the lower weight classes. For a time, he seemed
like one of the best fighters in the sport. He had remarkably fast
hands and deadly punching power, particularly from the right side,
as well as a fine jab with which to set it all up. It went beyond
his boxing, as he had a nearly perfect leg kick that was
ridiculously fast, sudden, technical and powerful. Absent that
weapon, he could simply knock out opponents with a head kick or
well-timed knee. His abilities were not limited to the striking
department, as he had excellent submission skills, powerful
ground-and-pound and proved nearly impossible to take down. Even
so, he has suffered five knockout losses in a row. Why? His defense
continues to deteriorate, but the main culprits are an absolutely
shot chin and atrocious cardio that affords him perhaps one round
of energetic striking. Once exhausted, he becomes a sitting duck
for opponents, whether they decide to strike or grapple. An attempt
to move up to featherweight and fight at a much slower pace also
failed, as he was eventually hit and stopped. Can he right the ship
Saturday at the
Professional Fighters League 2023 Season Opener? We shall
see.
STRIKING
• Stance: Orthodox.
• Hand Speed: Still exceptional.
• Jab: Fast, technical, straight and snappy. He uses it to set up
power punches well.
• Cross: Thrown with solid technique and power, but he rarely uses
it.
• Left Hook: A little straight-armed, thus lacking rotation and
power. He throws it with a decent arc and fairly fast and
accurate.
• Overhand Right: Technical, sudden, fast and powerful. He used it
to stun and drop the defensively sound
Raphael
Assuncao in their rematch.
• Right Hook: Carries similar properties to the overhand. However,
it is not quite as sudden, making it easier to dodge.
• Uppercuts: A dynamic shot from the right side. Fast, sudden and
technical, and he can throw it as a lead.
• Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: When he has energy in the
tank, he can fire beautiful combinations that are sleek and
harmonious, no matter how many punches he throws or which kind.
• Favorite Combination(s): Anything off the jab, whether it is
followed by an overhand right, a right hook, a cross or an
uppercut.
• Leg Kicks: Fast, hard, sudden and accurate, like a whip. He has
hurt countless opponents badly and recorded at least one stoppage
with them.
• Body Kicks: Uses them less often than those to the legs or head.
While excellent, they are somewhat telegraphed but quite fast and
powerful.
• Head Kicks: He has to set them up, so they are not particularly
well-hidden. However, they are fast, accurate and deadly, with the
notoriously durable
Jimmie
Rivera among the notable victims.
• Chains Kicks to Punches: No.
• Knee: A tremendously powerful, fast and well-timed shot which he
can counter dipping opponents. Ask
Aljamain
Sterling.
Offensively, Moraes is one of the greatest strikers the lower
weight divisions have ever seen. He has naturally fast hands and
tremendous punching power in his rights, along with hellacious
kicks. Everything, however, starts from his fast, technical and
straight jab. From there, his overhand right and right hook are
absolutely devastating, possessing every quality you could want in
punches. His right uppercut is dangerous, too, and he can string
together beautiful, fluid combinations. Plus, he wields some of the
best leg kicks in MMA history; they are almost impossible to
counter and inflict tremendous damage. If opponents worry too much
about those weapons, he can go upstairs and find knockouts with his
head kick or a perfectly timed knee. Unfortunately, Moraes
struggles on the defensive side of the equation, his issues
exacerbated by a weak chin. Most of his best qualities disappear
once he fatigues.
CLINCH
• Physical Strength: Tremendously powerful, even against similar
opponents and world-class grapplers.
• Technique: Has a mastery of the fundamental positions, as he
frames and spins off quite well.
• Knees: Excellent in the rare times he stays there.
• Elbows: Does not throw them.
• Defense Against Knees/Elbows: Vulnerable to being kneed
repeatedly at close range once fatigue sets in.
Moraes does not like to be in the clinch and usually separates
quickly thanks to his strength, technique and the ability to spin
off. When he fails to do so, chances are fatigue has taken hold.
Then he becomes vulnerable to close-range knees, as Henry
Cejudo demonstrated.
GRAPPLING
• Wrestling from a Shot: Difficult to say since he has not done so
for some time. A tired, desperate shot against Cejudo did not look
too bad.
• Wrestling in the Clinch: Generally avoids this, but it is likely
up to par given that he has proven to be a capable defensive
wrestler.
• Takedown Defense: Depends on energy. When he was at full
strength, he easily stuffed Cejudo’s attempts. Once he gasses, he
becomes much weaker and can be taken down without much effort, as
Merab
Dvalishvili showed.
• Ability to Return to Feet: Excellent when his cardio holds up,
instantly exploding back to a standing position. Almost
non-existent when he tires.
• Submissions: Excels at taking the back and locking in rear-naked
chokes fluidly. Wields tremendous squeeze on his guillotine—the
maneuver he used to tap Assuncao in their rematch.
• Defense/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Bottom: If Moraes finds
himself on the bottom at all, it is likely because his gas tank has
failed him. In such cases, his defensive abilities are almost
non-existent, as he does nothing to stop ground-and-pound and
passively looks on while being hit. Cejudo and Dvalishvili finished
him with ground-and-pound—something they have never done against
any other high-level opponent.
• Top control: Only ends up there when he finishes off an opponent
with strikes or a submission.
• Ground-and-Pound: Consists of fast, powerful punches. He
incorporates his body well any time he gains separation.
Moraes has for quite some time sought to only engage in the
striking department, as it is less energy-intensive than grappling.
That is a shame since Moraes has excellent submission skills,
especially when he threatens the neck with chokes. Moreover, he
features ground-and-pound that is far superior to that of most
fighters who find themselves in top position. While his energy
lasts, he is almost impossible to take or keep down. However, when
his energy wanes, he often concedes takedowns and looks incredibly
vulnerable on the bottom, putting up little fight as he absorbs one
strike after another.
INTANGIBLES
• Athleticism/General Physical Strength: Still strong and fairly
dynamic early in a fight but less so than in past years.
• Cardio: One of his most glaring weakness. He has about one round
of energy in him, and once he gasses, he is completely robbed of
the ability to throw meaningful punches, move or defend.
• Chin: He has been knocked out in five straight fights, oftentimes
by blows that did not look particularly damaging.
• Recuperative Powers: Poor.
• Intelligence: He tried to fight in a smarter and more measured
manner in his last outing against
Sheymon
Moraes, only to be betrayed by his chin once again.