Marlon Moraes made a name for himself prior to signing with the UFC.
On Friday night, Moraes made a name for himself as a contender in the UFC’s bantamweight division.
The former World Series of Fighting champion landed a stiff head kick that floored Jimmie Rivera in their main event fight at UFC Fight Night 131, following up with several strikes on the ground to earn the finish.
Moraes is now on a very short list of contenders to the 135-pound title, a belt he held for years in the now-defunct WSOF.
The card also featured slick submission wins by Gregor Gillespie and Julio Arce, TKOs from Walt Harris and Ben Saunders, and a decision by Sam Alvey on the FOX Sports 1 main card from Utica, New York.
Complete results are below:
Marlon Moraes def. Jimmie Rivera via KO (head-kick) at :33 of Round 1
Gregor Gillespie def. Vinc Pichel via submission (arm-triangle choke) at 4:06 of Round 2
Walt Harris def. Daniel Spitz via TKO (strikes) at 4:59 of Round 2
Ben Saunders def. Jake Ellenberger via TKO (strikes) at 1:56 of Round 1
Julio Arce def. Daniel Teymur via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:55 of Round 3
Sam Alvey def. Gian Villante via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Sijara Eubanks def. Lauren Murphy via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
David Teymur def. Nik Lentz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Belal Muhammad def. Chance Rencountre via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Desmond Green def. Gleison Tibau via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Nathaniel Wood def. Johnny Eduardo via submission (D’arce choke) at 2:18 of Round 2
Jose Torres def. Jarred Brooks via TKO (strikes) at 2:55 of Round 2