Marlon Moraes feels stoppage in defeat to Cory Sandhagen was "a little early"

Marlon Moraes is back in the 'L' column after his main event fight against Cory Sandhagen on UFC Fight Island. The Brazilian was expected to give Sandhagen a tough time, but in the end, he was caught by a glancing head kick before being finished.

Many argued that it was an early stoppage, but if you were to watch it back, Marlon Moraes made no protests as such and was seen congratulating Cory Sandhagen.

In a post-fight interview (H/T MMAJunkie), Marlon Moraes opened up about the defeat to Cory Sandhagen:

“I thought we had a very good first round. But I thought I won the round,” Moraes said during the UFC post-fight show. “And then he started the second and I don’t know, I think he kind of catch me with a kick and bloodied my eye a little bit and right after he surprised me. He didn’t come this way, he came the other way and that’s it."

Marlon Moraes admitted that he felt the stoppage was premature, but he didn't complain about it and stated that there wasn't enough time for him to get up.

“Probably a little early stoppage but whatever. I thought I was [OK to continue] but the ref just jumped on me. I didn’t have time enough to get up.”

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Would the referee allowing Marlon Moraes to continue have led to a different result?

While it's hard to say, Marlon Moraes was ultimately caught in the head and was in a vulnerable position. He undoubtedly could have recovered, but given the compromising nature of his position, it's safe to assume that Cory Sandhagen would have had a high chance to finish him either way.

It wasn't the most controversial stoppage and it now means that Marlon Moraes will have to work his way back up to the title shot. Cory Sandhagen, on the other hand, could just be one fight away from a title shot.