Sherdog’s Top 10: Rising Stars, 2014 First Edition

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7. Marlon Moraes (13-4-1)

World Series of Fighting bantamweight champion Moraes is a fascinating example of the late bloomer in MMA. The former Brazilian muay Thai champion always had talent -- there was no question about that -- but the first five years of his professional career included nearly as many head-scratching losses as impressive showings.

All of that changed with time and hard work under the capable direction of Ricardo Almeida and the New Jersey crew that revolves around onetime UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. Moraes got his grappling and wrestling games together, which allowed him to flash his exceptional athleticism and venomous striking skills to their fullest extent. Miguel Torres, fresh off his release from the UFC, was the first victim of this resurgent Moraes, and he has alternated between dominant decisions and devastating finishes in his subsequent five bouts in the WSOF.

Moraes has evolved into a crowd-pleasing hybrid of his lifelong friend, UFC lightweight Edson Barboza, and Edgar, showing off a mixture of devastating, high-output striking, quick single-legs and knee taps on the inside and opportunistic submissions. In fact, Moraes would be one of the two or three best strikers in the UFC’s bantamweight division, and he would be a real threat to win the title or at least give the best 135-pounders in the world a run for their money.

Although he is only 26, Moraes already has almost eight years as a professional under his belt, and now is his time to shine. Fans can only hope that the World Series of Fighting continues to find intriguing challenges for one of its brightest stars.

Number 6 » Although he can put in excellent work from the outside with his devastating low kicks, he really shines at close range, where he mixes knees, elbows and uppercuts in a vicious witch’s brew of concussion-inducing violence.