Report: Marlon Moraes Makes UFC Debut Against Raphael Assuncao

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Former World Series of Fighting bantamweight champion Marlon Moraes (pictured) will make his UFC debut against Raphael Assuncao at UFC 212.

MMAFighting.com first reported the matchup Thursday night.

Moraes, arguably the world’s best 135-pounder, became a free agent after beating Josenaldo Silva in December. The win marked his 13th straight.

The 28-year-old had been negotiating with the UFC for the past several months and was finally able to put pen to paper recently. The UFC wasted no time in issuing Moraes his first assignment, and they certainly didn’t do him any favors.

Assuncao is victorious in eight of his past nine outings. The former top contender was most recently seen taking a split decision over Aljamain Sterling in January.

UFC 212 goes down June 3 inside HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Here is the card’s current lineup:

Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Eric Spicely

Johnny Eduardo vs. Matthew Lopez

Marco Beltran vs. Deiveson Alcantara

Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Claudia Gadelha

Marlon Moraes vs. Raphael Assuncao

Anderson Silva vs. Kelvin Gastelum

Max Holloway (UFC interim featherweight champion) vs. Jose Aldo (UFC featherweight champion