UFC 212 live blog: Raphael Assuncao vs. Marlon Moraes

This is the UFC 212 live blog for Raphael Assuncao vs. Marlon Moraes, a bantamweight bout at Saturday night's UFC event at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Assuncao, who has won four of his past five fights, will square off against Moraes, who is making his UFC debut, on the last fight before the pay-per-view.

Check out the UFC 212 live blog below.

Round 1: Crazy main event of these prelims — Moraes making his UFC debut, and only one lost between these two since 2011 (Assuncao against Dillashaw). The referee is Osiris Maia. Moraes wit ha combo, and then a leg kick. Very quick out of the gate. We’ll see if he’s got any jitters, but nice start. Assuncao moves in, and eats a big right hand. Leg kick from Assuncao, and now Moraes comes in high with a kick. Assuncao with a right. Assuncao holding the middle, but Moraes lands a right hand which makes him reel. Moraes looking good early. After slipping, Moraes lands a nice one-two, and Assuncao slams a low kick in — looks like it hit groin, but Moraes says fight on. Nice body kick from Moraes. Moraes doing great with his counters. Assuncao tries to switch levels, nothing doing. Overhand right whiffs for Assuncao, and Moraes narrowly misses a counter. They are swinging, but Assuncao not able to pinpoint the timing. Left hand from Assuncao, and now he lands a right hand — and another. Wow. Great way to end the round, but round goes to the UFC newcomer. MMA Fighting scores R1 for Moraes, 10-9.

Round 2: See how Moraes handles himself after having fight change so suddenly at end of that first round. Nice little exchange at center, and now a push kick from Assuncao. Left hand from Moraes, and now he comes over top with a high kick — misses. Both guys just miss in a quick pocket exchange; both are meaning to do damage with those heavy shots. Moraes staying on his heels, rolling around. Crowd is booing, but these cats are right there trying to do work. Another exchange, with Moraes getting the better of it. Moraes trying to work the jab, but Assuncao moving well. Spinning wheel kick from Moraes misses, but not by much. Fun fight here. Lots of action, yet both are game. Left hand from Moraes lands, and that gave Assuncao some pause. Push kick from Assuncao, not flush. Body kick from Moraes lands. That’s it for that round...close as hell. Hard to score. MMA Fighting scores R2 for Assuncao, 10-9.

Round 3: Leg kick exchange, and they are timing each other out now. Nice shot there from Assuncao, and Moraes is back up and bobbing. Moraes just has an answer for about every offensive attempt from Assuncao. Leg kick from Moraes, and that clipped the surging Assuncao. A lot more dekes and feints here from Moraes, who is active. Nice jab from Moraes there. He tries that head kick again off a feint with the right, but it misses. Low kick from Assuncao, and that forces a moment. Moraes, once again, says he’s okay. Body punches from Moraes. Left hook continues to work for Moraes. Crowd again voicing its displeasure. Moraes may be losing some steam, and Assuncao switches to southpaw. Assuncao with a jab, then catches a kick and lands a shot. Now Moraes with a single leg, and for a moment looked like he was hitting the deck, but he spins out of it and stays standing. Nice job there. Spin kick from Moraes, mostly blocked, but wow. Moraes coming alive here late, trying to land. That’s it. MMA Fighting scores R3 for Moraes, 10-9 (29-28 overall for Moraes).

UFC 212 official results: Raphael Assuncao def. Marlon Moraes via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)