Five years ago, Josh Rettinghouse had his first brush with greatness.
At World Series of Fighting 9 on March 29, 2014, the then-24-year-old Rettinghouse was matched up with future UFC star Marlon Moraes. Make no mistake, Rettinghouse wasn’t some star-struck token challenger. He’d earned his spot with an upset of bronze-medal winning Olympic wrestler Alexis Vila, who’d made a name for himself in Bellator MMA.
But when the time came for Rettinghouse’s big moment, it was Moraes who dominated the action, brutalizing Rettinghouse with leg kicks and out-striking him en route to a lopsided unanimous decision win after five rounds.