Even in a bad phase in his career, Thiago Marreta sets a deadline to compete again for the light heavyweight belt

T. Marreta (left) hits J. Jones (right) in the UFC 239. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook @UFC

Even though he is going through a difficult time in his career, the Brazilian Thiago Marreta showed confidence in gaining a new opportunity to compete for the light heavyweight belt (up to 93kg). In an interview with the ‘Mundo da Luta’ podcast, the Rio fighter spoke about the mistakes made in his last defeat, to Magomed Ankalayev and said he wants to fight for the UFC title again within three years.

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“I wouldn’t take credit away from my opponent, who studied me, played the anti-game. He is an athlete who has good physical conditioning, fast for his category, doesn't cut a lot of weight, so he's not slow like those who cut a lot of weight. He moves well, he's smart. He adapted after taking the knockdown, he didn't take any more risks, he did the anti-game, he worked on his movement. It was a mixture of him having done technical preparation, along with my “mistakes” of not having read this during the fight, which he was more managing, scoring. His merit and my fault for not having changed the game a little and created different things in the fight”, said Marreta.

After hitting the post in a title fight against the legend Jon Jones, the Brazilian said he does not intend to extend his career for much longer and revealed that he plans to fight for the title again within three years.

“I believe that each person has their expiration date. I don't see myself fighting until I'm 42 or so. I think my limit is a little less. My body comes from a lot of work, not only from fighting, but also from my military career. Many micro injuries, many parts during training that remain behind the cameras. I don't see myself fighting for another five years, I think I have a short period of time, let's set aside three years to win this belt. I've already set this goal in my head, I have three years to give my all and win this belt”, concluded the Brazilian athlete.

Since returning from a serious knee injury, Marreta has failed to return to his high level and has been defeated in three of his last four fights. The greatest moment of the Brazilian's career happened in July 2019, when the Rio de Janeiro native faced the legend Jon Jones in the main fight of UFC 239. After 25 minutes of an electrifying fight, the North American emerged victorious in a split decision from the judges.