No injury news is ever happy, but for Raphael Assuncao and his fans, Monday’s news has to be particularly gut-wrenching.
The UFC bantamweight contender, who after years of excellence in relative anonymity, finally appeared poised to receive a title shot, announced he recently broke his ankle and will miss extended time.
The fighter himself announced the news on his personal Twitter account.
I am devastated 2 inform that my title shot hopes will be even further delayed due 2 broken ankle suffered in training I am sorry once again
— Raphael Assuncao (@RaphaAssuncao) December 22, 2014
There was no immediate official word from the UFC on the injury, nor has a timetable been announced for his return. However, after Assuncao‘s announcement, Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter was among those subsequently reporting that Assuncao could be on the shelf for two months or more.
Raphael Assuncao has a broken ankle, too. 8-10 weeks of healing for s clean break. No surgery required. Bantamweight division taking blows.
— Jeremy Botter (@jeremybotter) December 22, 2014
Ankle fractures are always serious injuries, and it appears Assuncao (23-4) will not be able to immediately capitalize on his recent momentum. The 32-year-old Brazilian is 7-0 since dropping down to the 135-pound division from featherweight in 2011, and he was 2-0 in 2014.
Assuncao is currently ranked No. 4 in the UFC’s official bantamweight rankings. However, the fighters above him all appeared to be imperfect choices as challengers to reigning champion T.J. Dillashaw.
Renan Barao and Urijah Faber both have recently lost title matches. Barao, the former champion, lost his title to Dillashaw in May, then drove himself into the UFC’s doghouse by missing weight for his scheduled rematch at UFC 177.
Faber, though highly successful and immensely popular, lost to then-champion Barao in February.
Top contender Dominick Cruz, who made an emphatic return to the Octagon earlier this year after missing nearly three years to knee injuries, announced earlier Monday that yet another torn ACL will cause him to miss extended time.
That left Assuncao as a logical choice to challenge for Dillashaw‘s title, especially given the small matter of fact that Assuncao defeated Dillashaw by split decision back in 2013 in a bout that earned Fight of the Night bonus honors.
But that logic, of course, fell apart following Assuncao‘s Monday announcement.
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