UFC 245: Marlon Moraes Isn’t Worried About Jose Aldo’s Much Discussed Weight Cut

Since a recent photo of Jose Aldo was shared out, as he prepares to make his bantamweight debut this Saturday, there’s been no shortage of talk regarding the legend’s weight cut. But, it sounds like the man who will face him, Marlon Moraes, isn’t getting caught up in all the speculation.

Moraes fields question about the now, much discussed photo

When Aldo announced his plans for a drop to bantamweight it raised eyebrows around the sport, as for years, there was talk about the former featherweight champ moving up to lightweight (not down).

After a photo of Aldo was shared out recently it sparked concerns about how his cut is going. For example, Darren Till questioned whether the legend is going to make it, and Urijah Faber opined things aren’t looking good.

But, when Moraes was recently asked to weigh-in on the situation, the former WSOF champ said this (quotes via MMA Junkie):

“People always like to talk about anything,” Moraes said. “People always like to make a big case. Of course he’s having a tough cut. I’m having a tough cut. Everybody is having a tough cut. It’s not easy. We all cut weight. We all get drained and get lighter. That’s me; that’s him. It’s about the performances. It’s about who comes out Saturday night.

“I’m 100 percent sure I’m making weight, and I think I have a very good feeling – his team’s a great team – he’s going to make weight, too. If he wasn’t going to make weight, he wouldn’t come to Las Vegas all the way from Brazil. So everything is on point. You guys are going to have a great fight. Don’t worry about that.”

Is a great fight guaranteed?

So, clearly Moraes is preparing for a scenario where Aldo is at his best, and that’s wise. After all, he’s about to battle one of the greatest fighters ever. But, while Aldo’s camp has been saying otherwise (and Conor McGregor thinks the star looks on track), it is possible that he’s having a tough time and won’t be at 100% come Saturday. Here’s hoping, however, that’s not the case. We’ll likely get some better insights on this at tomorrow’s weigh-ins.

UFC 245 line-up

UFC 245 will be hosted by the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Here is the line-up for Saturday’s stacked card (via MMA Mania):

UFC 245 ESPN+ PPV Main Card (10 p.m. ET)
170 lbs.: UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington
145 lbs.: UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway vs. Alexander Volkanovski
135 lbs.: UFC Bantamweight Champion Amanda Nunes vs. Germaine de Randamie
135 lbs.: Jose Aldo vs. Marlon Moraes
135 lbs.: Urijah Faber vs. Petr Yan

UFC 245 ESPN2 ‘Prelims’ Card (8 p.m. ET)
170 lbs.: Mike Perry vs. Geoff Neal
135 lbs.: Irene Aldana vs. Ketlen Vieira
185 lbs.: Omari Akhmedov vs. Ian Heinisch
170 lbs.: Matt Brown vs. Ben Saunders

UFC 245 ESPN+/Fight Pass ‘Prelims’ Card (6:30 p.m. ET)
145 lbs.: Chase Hooper vs. Daniel Teymur
125 lbs.: Kai Kara-France vs. Brandon Moreno
125 lbs.: Jessica Eye vs. Viviane Araujo
185 lbs.: Oskar Piechota vs. Punahele Soriano

*Fight card, bout order and the amount of matches subject to change.