NORFOLK, Va. – Marlon Moraes wants a date with Jimmie Rivera at UFC 219 on Dec. 30 after picking up a split decision win over John Dodson on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 120.

Former WSOF bantamweight champ Moraes (19-5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) earned his first octagon victory when he edged out a narrow win on the scorecards over “The Ultimate Fighter 14” winner Dodson (19-9 MMA, 8-4 UFC). The fight took place at Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Va., and aired on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

Moraes said he has no doubt that he won the fight, mainly because his coaches said he did. Now he turns his attention to Rivera (21-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC), who is need of an opponent after former champ Dominick Cruz pulled out of their year-end date due to injury.

“I’m happy, but the judge for me is my coaches,” Moraes told MMAjunkie after his victory. “They said I won, so I’m happy, and I hope to go back to the gym and get better and Dec. 30, beating Jimmie Rivera.”

Although he won the fight on the scorecards, Moraes was showered with boos from the crowd after the decision was read. He said he doesn’t think that’s because they dislike him, but rather because he landed a pair of illegal blows on Dodson early in the contest.

Dodson complained to the referee about Moraes’ tactics several times throughout the 135-pound fight. Afterward, the Brazilian defended his actions and insisted he’s not a dirty fighter.

“I think the boos for the crowd were more for the two shots in the first round,” Moraes said. “I think they all knew I won, but they were a little concerned about the shots I landed with. That’s OK. I’ll go to the gym, I’ll be back. That was a friggin’ accident.”

After dominating the field in WSOF, Moraes has had two tough fights since coming to the UFC. He lost a competitive decision to Raphael Assuncao in his debut before rebounding with the win over Dodson. He said he’s starting to feel at home in the octagon, and wants to prove he belongs at the top of the division with a win over Rivera.

“That’s the fight to make,” Moraes said. “I want to fight, he has no opponent, let’s go. … There’s no easy fights up there. I’m here, I put in two tough fights, so I think I belong here.”

To hear more from Moraes, check out the video above.

And for complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 120, check out the UFC Events section of the site.