Eddie Yagin vs. Júnior Assunção

The third bout of UFC 135 featured Eddie "The Filipino Phenom" Yagin taking on Junior Assuncao in a featherweight contest. Yagin was making his UFC promotional debut after an impressive victory over Joe Soto in the Tachi Palace Fights organization, and came into the fight with a 15-4-1 overall record. Assuncao entered the fight 1-2 in the UFC, however all of those fights came during a prior stint in the organization several years prior. Assuncao was re-signed after going on a six fight win streak and had an overall 12-4 record.

The fighters both waited for each other to make the first move, with the first minute passing by uneventfully. Yagin flicked a high kick at Assuncao, who stood with an odd stance of having his arms hanging down by his sides. Yagin looked for an overhand right, and then Assuncao shot forward for a double leg, successfully bringing Yagin to the ground on his first attempt. Assuncao easily bypassed a triangle attempt as he sought a way to pass guard. Assuncao delivered a pair of stiff punches to the face of Yagin before Yagin was able to get back to his feet. Assuncao hesitated to engage in striking exchanges, causing the standup portions of the round to be stilted and awkward. Another takedown for Assuncao with thirty seconds left in the frame, probably helping win the round in the eyes of the judges.

Yagin stuffed a takedown in the second round and just missed on a knee in the scramble. On the next shot in, Assuncao managed to get around to Yagin's back standing but lost the advantageous position. A missed takedown attempt from Assuncao, and then a decent left hand in what was again a tentative round. Yagin failed to mount much offense, missing on some of his kicks and unable to get inside where his shorter reach wouldn't matter. Assuncao flew forward for a takedown with just over a minute remaining, bringing Yagin down but getting stuck in a tight-looking guillotine choke in the process. Assuncao wagged his finger in confidence, worked his way out of the choke, and attempted to improve his position. Yagin escaped and the round ended with the audience displeased with the level of action.

In the third round Yagin stuffed a takedown, ended up in top position, but couldn't capitalize as Assuncao scrambled out. Assuncao defied risk in working for his next takedown, getting his neck stuck in an arm-in guillotine until popping his head free and completing the shot. Assuncao delivered some mildly effective punches and elbows from half-guard, increasing in power as Yagin couldn't avoid them. Assuncao turned up the heat in the final 90 seconds, doing effective damage as Yagin couldn't find a way out. Yagin appeared gassed out with referee Josh Rosenthal hovering closely, however the fight was allowed to go the distance, clearly with the final round in Assuncao's favor.

The judges scored the bout 30-26, 30-26, and 30-27 in favor of Junior Assuncao via unanimous decision. Speaking to Joe Rogan in the post-fight interview, Assuncao commented, "I wasn't nervous at all, I follow my brother Rafael... I tried to get into his mind last night at the weigh-ins since he was a newcomer... I didn't get tired at all... He's 15-4 with several knockouts, I knew of his knockout power, I'm a jiu-jitsu guy at the end of the day and I didn't want to get hit in the face, I had a gameplan... I was surprised I couldn't get a TKO... all the props to the guy, he's a newcomer, I've been a new guy in the UFC before and I know how it is."