Early career Moraes made his professional MMA debut in October 2006 in his native Brazil. Over the next five years, he amassed a record of six wins and one loss, with five of his six wins coming via submission. Moraes made his United States debut in June 2009 for
Bellator Fighting Championships. After being rocked early in the round, Moraes was able to get a takedown and quickly lash up a
Triangle choke to defeat Josh Martin via submission in the first round at
Bellator 12.
The Ultimate Fighter In March 2012, Moraes appeared as a fighter on
The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil. In the opening elimination fight, he defeated former
Muay Thai World Champion Thiago Rela by submission due to a heel hook from the 50/50 guard, midway through round 1 to get into the TUF house. In the first round of the competition, Moraes fought Delson Heleno. Moraes defeated Heleno via submission (rear naked choke) early in the first round to move onto the semi-final round. There, Moraes fought
Daniel Sarafian for a spot at the finals. Moraes was knocked out by Sarafian in the first round by a flying knee.
Ultimate Fighting Championship Moraes made his UFC debut on June 23, 2012, at
UFC 147 against
Cezar Ferreira to determine the winner of
The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil. He stepped in as a replacement for Sarafian, who was injured. Moraes lost the fight by unanimous decision after being knocked down twice by Ferreira. Moraes fought fellow
TUF Brazil alumnus
Renée Forte on October 13, 2012, at
UFC 153. After being outstruck for much of the bout, Moraes rallied back in the third round and defeated a visibly exhausted Forte by submission due to a rear naked choke. Moraes faced
Neil Magny on August 3, 2013, at
UFC 163. Moraes won the fight via triangle choke in the first round. The win also earned him his first
Submission of the Night bonus award. Moraes was expected to face
Zak Cummings on November 30, 2013, at
The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale. However, Cummings and Moraes had to pull out of the event due to injury and were replaced by
Sean Spencer and
Drew Dober respectively. Moraes was expected to face
Peter Sobotta on April 11, 2015, at
UFC Fight Night 64. However, Sobotta was forced out of the bout citing injury and was replaced by
Gasan Umalatov. In turn, Umalatov also pulled out with injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer
Mickaël Lebout. Moraes won the fight via unanimous decision. The fight with Sobotta was rescheduled for June 20, 2015, at
UFC Fight Night 69. On June 9, the fight was scrapped once again as Moraes pulled out for undisclosed reasons. He was replaced by promotional newcomer Steve Kennedy. Moraes faced
Omari Akhmedov on December 10, 2015, at
UFC Fight Night 80. He won the fight via KO in the third round. Moraes was expected to face
Kamaru Usman on May 14, 2016, at
UFC 198. However, Usman was replaced on the card for undisclosed reasons by promotional newcomer
Luan Chagas. The fight was scored a split draw. Moraes was expected to face
Michael Graves on November 19, 2016, at
UFC Fight Night 100. However, Graves was removed from the fight on October 3 after he was arrested on a misdemeanor
battery charge. Moraes instead faced Zak Ottow on the card. Moraes was awarded a split decision victory. Moraes was expected to face
Max Griffin but Griffin pulled out of the fight and Moraes faced promotional newcomer Davi Ramos on March 11, 2017, at
UFC Fight Night 106. He won the fight via unanimous decision. After the fight with Ramos, Moraes signed a new, six-fight deal with UFC. A rescheduled bout with
Kamaru Usman eventually took place on September 16, 2017, at
UFC Fight Night 116. Moraes lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Moraes was scheduled to face promotional newcomer
Abubakar Nurmagomedov on February 3, 2018, at
UFC Fight Night 125. Within the same day, for undisclosed reasons, Nurmagomedov was replaced by
Tim Means. Moraes won the fight via split decision. Moraes faced
Ben Saunders on September 22, 2018, at
UFC Fight Night 137. He won the fight via a submission in round two. Moraes faced
Anthony Rocco Martin on March 9, 2019, at
UFC Fight Night 146. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Moraes faced
Warlley Alves on May 11, 2019, at
UFC 237. He lost the fight via knockout in the third round. Moraes faced
James Krause on November 16, 2019, at
UFC Fight Night 164. He lost the fight via knockout in round three and was subsequently released from the UFC.
Post-UFC career On September 8, 2020, news surfaced that Moraes had signed with Taura MMA and made his promotional debut against Jared Revel at Taura MMA 10 on October 23, 2020. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. ==Championships and accomplishments==