(This is how you repay a man for doing a great deed, God? WELL TO HELL WITH YOU! Photo via Getty)
The hits just keep on coming in the bantamweight division, ladies and gentlemen. I don’t mean literal hits, of course, because that would imply that any of the fighters in said division are healthy enough to throw a punch or two every now and again.
Let’s just get this over with: Mere hours after word broke that Dominick Cruz had injured his *other* ACL and would be out of action indefinitely, Raphael Assuncao (a.k.a the guy who would be next in line for a title shot should Cruz get injured) announced via Twitter that he had suffered an injury in training and would also be out indefinitely.
And just like that, the last fuck given about the bantamweight division floated away with the passing breeze.
If you recall, this is the second ill-timed injury that has screwed Assuncao out of a title shot. Back in February, Assuncao was briefly linked to a title shot against then champion Renan Barao at UFC 173, but declined the fight due to a rib injury suffered in his fight against Pedro Munhoz at UFC 170. Some guy named T.J. offered to step in on late notice for Assuncao, and yadda yadda yadda there’s a new champion now.
With Assuncao injured, the only question remaining in my mind is: How long must we wait to bestow pound-for-pound king status on TJ Dillashaw? I mean, the man is such a force at 135 that contenders are intentionally injuring themselves to avoid fighting him. If that doesn’t scream G.O.A.T., then I’m just filling up space at the end of this article. And I would never.
Do.
That.