Sergio Moraes at UFC 147. The "TUF Brazil" runner-up stepped in for an injured Daniel Sarafian and stole the show. Photo: Victor Gruzman/GRACIEMAG.
The champion from team Alliance started stealing the show at UFC 147, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, while still at the pre-event press conference. “Anything can happen in this fight. He can’t knock me out, can’t finish me. He’s more likely to get me pregnant than finish me,” he said, to laughter all around.
When it came to it, the TUF middleweight final was a pleasurable affair, with Cezar Mutante hitting hard and avoiding the ground game while Sérgio accepted the standup battle. Mutante’s winning and snapping up the UFC contract was deserved.
And anyone who caught a glimpse of Sérgio’s dodging could see that he was imitating Mauricio Shogun’s signature gesture of extending his arms out to the side. The reason being that Moraes has been training with the former light heavyweight champ and André Dida in Paraná State for the last month and a half.
The training and exchange between Shogun and Sérgio has been going so smoothly that the Alliance ace moved to the city of Curitiba, where the likes of Wanderlei Silva, Anderson and other stalwart Chute Boxe representatives got their start, so as to have the peace of mind and financial stability he needed to be able to continue work on his striking there.
The UFC hasn’t yet issued an official invitation to the fighter, as of this afternoon, but all the TUF Brazil cast members signed an exclusive contract binding them to the promotion until the end of 2012. In other words, we may be seeing Sérgio in action again by the end of the year.
