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A rematch between Raphael Assuncao and Marlon Moraes headlines UFC Fight Night in Fortaleza, Brazil, on Saturday.
The event starts at 5 p.m. ET. While it won’t be broadcast nationally on regular cable television in the US, you can watch a live stream of the entire fight card on your computer, phone, or streaming device via ESPN+, the new digital streaming service from ESPN that has exclusive coverage to dozens of sporting events, including UFC, every week.
You can start a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch a live stream of every fight on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.
UFC Fight Night Brazil Preview
Raphael Assuncao is back to fight in his home country of Brazil for the first time since UFC 212 in Rio de Janeiro, and once again, it will be countryman Marlon Moraes opposite him inside the Octagon.
In their first fight back in June of 2017, Assuncao put an end to the 13-fight winning streak of Moraes, who was making his UFC debut after five successful defenses of the World Series of Fighting bantamweight title. Still, Moraes’ talent and potential were on full display, as he pushed the veteran all the way in what turned into a split-decision win for Assuncao.
Since that loss, Moraes has rattled off wins against Top-10 opponents John Dodson (split decision), Aljamain Sterling (first-round KO) and Jimmie Rivera (first-round KO), earning Performance of the Night with each of the latter two victories. And he claims he’s only gotten better since those transcendent performances.
“I wasn’t expecting to be that long out of the cage, but one thing I can tell you is that I got better,” he said. “I wasn’t home watching TV, playing video games, going to the beach; I was in the gym training, getting better for the last eight months. I was sparring, training, asking for fights. I was asking to go up to 145 and take some Top 15 guy. I was asking to fight anybody and I think this made me stronger. I feel ready and I’ve never felt like this before.”
Assuncao, meanwhile, has picked up wins over Matthew Lopez (third-round KO) and Rob Font (unanimous decision) since his triumph over Moraes. He’s now 11-1 since his bantamweight debut back in August 2011, with the only defeat coming at the hands of TJ Dillashaw at UFC 200. He thought he had done enough to earn a title shot, but it will take one more win to get there, as Dana White has said that the victor on Saturday night will be the No. 1 contender for Dillashaw’s belt.
“I was a bit surprised. I thought I was going to get a title shot, especially with TJ going down (to flyweight) and all these fighters fighting in different divisions,” Assuncao said. “I thought I was going to get the title shot. There were people talking about the fight already. There were some rumors about this fight. And then the boss came and said that this was the fight that was supposed to happen, and it’s going to happen. And that has made me even more motivated. I’m feeling excited. I’m really focused for this fight.”
The other fights on the main card are former featherweight champ Jose Aldo vs Renato Moicano, Demian Maia vs Lyman Good, Charles Oliveira vs David Teymur, Johnny Walker vs Justin Ledet and Livia Renata Souza vs Sarah Frota.
On the preliminary card, which can also be watched on ESPN+, there are seven fights: Markus Perez vs Anthony Hernandez, Thiago Alves vs Max Griffin, Mara Romero Borella vs Taila Santos, Junior Albini vs Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Geraldo de Freitas Jr vs Felipe Colares, Ricardo Ramos vs Said Nurmagomedov and Rogeria Bontorin vs Magomed Bibulatov.
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