Two of the best submission specialists in the bantamweight division come together when Raphael Assuncao and Bryan Caraway fight this Saturday night in Canada for UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs. Saffiedine.
Caraway is best known for being the boyfriend of Miesha Tate, which has overshadowed a successful MMA career that spans nearly a decade. Caraway has 19 wins with only one of those coming by decision. He submits nearly everyone he faces and looks to do the same against a very strong opponent in Assuncao.
Assuncao is also stellar on the ground and uses his BJJ to dictate the pace of a fight and grind out decision wins. He’s riding a six-fight win streak and may very well make Caraway seventh on that list.
Here are the keys to victory for each fighter:
Bryan Caraway
“Kid Lightning” needs to do what’s made him successful up to this point. Avoid taking too many risks, protect his back, and get into a dominant position on Assuncao before Assuncao does the same to him. None of this is groundbreaking material, we’ve seen Caraway’s song and dance time and time again. He wins by submission, doesn’t have knockout power and doesn’t like to go deep into fights.
Should Caraway get into a dominant position early in the round, he can do enough to hold off a reversal from Assuncao and get the win.
Raphael Assuncao
Assuncao isn’t as aggressive as Caraway which may prove to be beneficial for the Brazilian fighter. Assuncao has made a living out of grinding out wins thanks to his excellent cardio and skills on the ground that allow him to earn points with the judges.
Assuncao has only been submitted once and that was over four years ago to Urijah Faber. This fight is truly a toss up, but Assuncao‘s willingness to be patient and extend a fight for all 15 minutes will eventually be his key to success in a win over Caraway.
Fights like this one between Caraway and Assuncao aren’t hard to predict. We know both fighters are great on the ground and the likelihood of one knocking out the other is very small. Chances are whoever can get control of the other to start each round will be able to maintain that position and win the round. It wouldn’t be surprising to see these two grind it out all the way to the end.
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