Long-time World Series Of Fighting bantamweight champion Marlon Moraes has officially signed for the UFC and will be thrown straight into a tough fight with Raphael Assuncao at UFC 212 on June 3rd in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
The 28-year-old Moraes had been with the WSOF promotion since there very first event back in November of 2012 and never lost a fight there, establishing himself as one of their biggest stars with no less than 11 victories in a row.
As such the Brazilian was considered the best bantamweight in the world outside of the UFC and so when he became a free agent recently they jumped at the chance to sign him up.
Naturally the level of competition in the UFC will be significantly higher than Moraes is used to, and he’s immediately heading into the toughest fight of his career against current No.3 ranked UFC bantamweight Raphael Assuncao.
The 34-year-old Assuncao has won eight of his nine fights in the UFC’s 135lb division, including major victories over the likes of TJ Dillashaw, Bryan Caraway and most recently Aljamain Sterling.
Moraes Vs Assuncao joins a UFC 212 card that’s set to be headlined by a featherweight title unifcation bout between Jose Aldo and Max Holloway, while Anderson Silva is also scheduled to fight against an as-yet uncomfirmed opponent and Claudio Gadhela takes on Karolina Kowalkiewicz.