Marcos Degli gets a chance to fight for a UFC deal Tuesday night in Las Vegas, battling Paris Moran on Dana White’s Contender Series, and it felt like a long time for the flyweight talent.
Named one of the top Brazilian prospects to watch in 2024, Degli added three title wins to his MMA record since, claiming and defending the LFA belt with a trio of knockouts to improve to 14-3. Degli had Vale Top Team teammate Carlos Prates campaign for him many times over the course of his rise to stardom in the UFC,
and now has the chance to back it up.
“I think that having that makes me grow not only in terms of the media,” Degli told MMA Fighting of Prates’ public support. “But also mentally, going in there more confident and thinking, ‘Man, I train with a badass.’ The guy says I’m a badass, so I think, ‘Man, why not? Why couldn’t I be the one with my hand raised?’ I think that makes me stronger.”
Degli makes his DWCS debut on a 12-fight winning streak with 11 finishes, and says his plan is to become the Carlos Prates of the flyweight division.
“Our styles are the same,” Degli said. “We come to finish the fight. And that’s what the UFC likes. That’s the face of the UFC: a guy who finishes the fight. And I think my differential will be my knockout power. I’m a guy with very heavy hands. When I get there, I believe it’s going to be a big hype.
“For a long time, I didn’t even follow my division. It was kind of overlooked, but I saw that now a lot of new guys are coming in, some good young guys, so that’s going to give the division a nice boost. Our division can only grow. We’re guys who really look to make fights happen, but there are still very few guys who have knockout power. So, getting there now, that’s going to be our differential.”
Degli has tried getting to the UFC multiple times in the past. Most recently, he flew to Perth to watch Prates beat ex-champion Jack Della Maddalena and volunteered to replace Jack Jenkins during fight week, moving all the way up to featherweight to face Marwan Rahiki, but didn’t have the proper visa to work. Earlier this year, Degli’s manager tried to get him signed to step in for Asu Almabayev against Brandon Moreno.
“I almost had a heart attack,” Degli said. “Lucas Lutkus, my manager, texted me at two in the morning saying, ‘Man, not to get you all hyped up, but there could be a possible fight against Brandon Moreno.’ I already wanted to be out running to make weight [laughs]. I was ready, wanting opportunities, because I think it’s a matchup that fits my game really well, you know? He’s a guy who has a lot of volume, a former champion. But it’s the volume, and I want a guy with volume in front of me because all I need is one hand, you know? It was a favorable matchup for me, I was really interested, but unfortunately it didn’t happen.”
The long road to the UFC turned out to be a good thing, Degli said, because it allowed him to develop into his best version. “Colder” and “less emotional,” Degli promises to shine in the octagon Tuesday.
“The Marcos ‘Tailandês’ from this interview is not the same Marcos ‘Tailandês’ who is stepping into the cage,” Degli said. “You can see that my look there is already the look of a killer, you know? That’s my dream right there, so I’m able to make that change when I go into the cage. That’s the difference, knowing how to stay calm, but because it’s Contender, you can’t be too calm either. You also have to have that grit, that aggressiveness.”
Degli and Moran have the exact same record going into their 125-pound clash at the Meta APEX, but the Brazilian feels the level of competition he’s faced was undeniably harder.
“Our records are the same, but looking at the opponents he’s already faced, none of them are like the guys I’ve faced in Brazil,” Degli said. “I’ve always fought tough guys here, so I believe that shaped who ‘Tailandês’ is. He hasn’t gone through those adversities yet. He’s going to face the toughest guy of his career now, and he knows that, so I know he must also be training his ass off to go against me. But this is my dream. I fight for my family, and I’ve waited so long for this moment. I’m going to show him why I’m one of the most feared guys in Brazil.”
“I believe I have much more punching power than him,” he continued. “He doesn’t knock people out. Pretty much all of his fights have gone to decision, you know? Different from mine. Of my 14 wins, 13 have come by knockout or submission. I come in looking to finish the fight, and he doesn’t have that style. But I’m also preparing my grappling, because I know he’ll be in shock once he takes the first shot, and probably will try to get close and clinch, and make it a more boring fight.”
