UFC Books Merab Dvalishvili Against a Retired Marlon Moraes Because Matchmaking is a Simulation

The UFC matchmaking machine has officially entered its random-name-generator era. Merab Dvalishvili is set to fight former bantamweight title challenger Marlon Moraes at the upcoming RAF Abu Dhabi event, a booking that sounds less like a real fight and more like a glitch in the matrix.

If you are wondering why that name sounds like a ghost from the past, it is because Moraes literally retired in 2023. The Brazilian striker walked away from the sport after suffering a brutal slide of knockout losses that made even the most bloodthirsty fans uncomfortable.

For context, Moraes was an absolute terror back in 2019 when he fought Henry Cejudo for the vacant 135-pound belt. But combat sports age in dog years, and the version of Moraes that closed out his career was getting stopped by every surging contender the UFC put in front of him.

On the other side of the cage, Dvalishvili is still very much in the active title picture. The Georgian cardio machine just wrapped up a high-stakes trilogy bout against Petr Yan at UFC 333 in October, where he was trying to bounce back from losing his bantamweight strap.

Oddsmakers are going to have an absolutely miserable time trying to frame this line. You have an active, relentless wrestler who routinely attempts double-digit takedowns in a single fight going up against a retired striker who has not had his hand raised in a sanctioned bout in years.

Bringing a guy out of a three-year retirement to fight a guy whose entire game plan is to drown you in wrestling pressure is certainly a choice. It is the kind of matchmaking that makes you wonder if someone in the front office just lost a bet.

We will find out soon enough if Moraes has discovered the fountain of youth or if this is just a high-profile sparring session for Dvalishvili. Until the cage door locks in Abu Dhabi, expect the combat sports world to remain deeply confused by how this contract actually got signed.