T.J. Dillashaw and Raphael Assuncao first met on October 9, 2013, when the Brazilian scored a split-decision victory in a closely contested battle. Fast forward less than three years to UFC 200, and the rematch went to Dillashaw, who swept the jud…
T.J. Dillashaw and Raphael Assuncao first met on October 9, 2013, when the Brazilian scored a split-decision victory in a closely contested battle. Fast forward less than three years to UFC 200, and the rematch went to Dillashaw, who swept the judges’ scorecards on Saturday.
All three rounds were close, but they went to Dillashaw, who capitalized on higher output to move past Assuncao.
In the first round, Dillashaw experienced varying success with his strikes. Assuncao was able to dodge a lot of the strikes, but Dillashaw’s high work rate allowed him to secure an edge. Both men showed solid takedown defense.
It was more of the same in the second round, but Dillashaw landed a bit more cleanly. He countered a leg kick with a straight right that landed flush. It was one of the first clean punches to connect during the bout. Assuncao scored with some left hands of his own and even scored a quick takedown.
Nevertheless, Dillashaw’s output was the difference.
The third and final round was the most decisive of the fight. Dillashaw landed a few clean punches and scored a takedown with less than 45 seconds left. Assuncao was never in danger of being finished, but he was also never a threat to the former champion.
The numbers from Michael Carroll of FightMetric show how the activity paid off for Dillashaw:
The result will be a significant setback for Assuncao. While he was never out of his depth against Dillashaw, he didn’t excite or look dangerous with his skills. Dillashaw’s movement made him ineffective.
After this win, Dillashaw should earn a rematch with Dominick Cruz. Dillashaw is, without debate or question, the top contender in the bantamweight division. Given how exciting and close the first fight was in January, it would be senseless not to book the rematch.
It’s a fight Dillashaw wants. Dillashaw stated that backstage after the fight per a UFC press release:
“I’m the champion in the bantamweight division. That’s my belt. Cruz knows I won that fight, I want my belt back. I’m coming for that title. He better not be trying out for Dancing With The Stars again because I’m coming for you, Dominick. A title fight is next. Nothing but a title fight.”
Dillashaw asserted his place as the rightful title contender, and now fight fans can anticipate a stellar rematch for the bantamweight gold.
T.J. Dillashaw (12-3) and Raphael Assuncao (23-4) are set for another three-round affair inside the Octagon.
No. 2-ranked Dillashaw and No. 3-ranked Assuncao, per Bleacher Report’s June MMA rankings, first met in 2013 at UFC Fight Night 29. A…
T.J. Dillashaw (12-3) and Raphael Assuncao (23-4) are set for another three-round affair inside the Octagon.
No. 2-ranked Dillashaw and No. 3-ranked Assuncao, per Bleacher Report’s June MMA rankings, first met in 2013 at UFC Fight Night 29. Assuncao would capture a controversial split decision. According to MMADecisions.com, the majority of the media scored the fight for Dillashaw.
Less than year later, Assuncao was slated to fight Renan Barao for the bantamweight championship. The Brazilian cited a rib injury as reason to pull out, Dillashaw replaced him and the American won the belt. So much has changed since that evening in 2013. Where does that take us at UFC 200?
Undoubtedly, the winner of this elite-level matchup will put their name at the top of the list for a title shot. A lot is riding on how they perform at the UFC’s biggest event to date. Will Dillashaw get his rematch with Dominick Cruz, or will Assuncao finally claim his title shot?
This is your head-to-toe breakdown for Dillashaw vs. Assuncao II.
The good news is Raphael Assuncao’s ankle surgery went well. The bad news is he’s not coming back as quickly as originally hoped.
Assuncao—perhaps the only even vaguely viable title challenger right now in the UFC’s injury-riddled bantamweight di…
The good news is Raphael Assuncao‘s ankle surgery went well. The bad news is he’s not coming back as quickly as originally hoped.
Assuncao—perhaps the only even vaguely viable title challenger right now in the UFC’s injury-riddled bantamweight division—recently tweeted a picture of his newly screw-enhanced right ankle. The news was reported Friday by Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie.
He is not expected to fight again before the end of 2015.
Sitting at No. 3 on the official UFC rankings despite not competing in nearly a year, Assuncao (23-4) originally hoped to miss a maximum of only 10 weeks when he fractured the ankle in late December. He blew through that timetable several times over, and after initially ruling out surgery, opted to go under the knife this week after the injury failed to properly heal.
With the lengthy layoff, Assuncao may have fallen behind Dominick Cruz in the line of challengers to champion T.J. Dillashaw. Cruz said recently he expects to return before the year is out.
However, fans may be forgiven for only believing it when they see it. Cruz, the former longtime division champ, is as electric as they come when healthy, but he has suffered multiple, major, well-documented knee and other injuries one on top of the other, and as a result has fought precisely once in the past four years (after which he promptly re-injured himself and returned to the sidelines).
Either man would be a breath of fresh air to a weight class currently dominated by Dillashaw, an inspiring competitor with no apparent equal among the division’s healthy bodies. Earlier this summer, Dillashaw dispatched former champ RenanBarao for the second time, effectively eliminating Barao as a rival.
After Barao, Cruz and Assuncao, the next highest-ranked UFC bantamweight is Urijah Faber, who is now 36 years old, has never won a UFC title fight and would likely not be too excited to face Dillashaw, his protege and training teammate.
After Faber is Michael McDonald, who has lost two of his last three and hasn’t fought in nearly two years.
You get the idea.
Assuncao may be the most interesting option now out there, considering that he beat Dillashaw (albeit via controversial split decision) back in 2013. UFC matchmakers have to be hoping the Brazilian’s ankle holds up this time. It’s currently bearing the weight of an entire division.
The UFC bantamweight division may be in chaos at the current time, but that isn’t slowing down Raphael Assuncao’s assault on the 135-pound weight class.
The 31-year-old Brazilian-turned-Atlanta transplant has started his bantamweight campaign on a flaw…
The UFC bantamweight division may be in chaos at the current time, but that isn’t slowing down Raphael Assuncao‘s assault on the 135-pound weight class.
The 31-year-old Brazilian-turned-Atlanta transplant has started his bantamweight campaign on a flawless run as he’s picked up victories in every one of his four showings in the division. With each outing, Assuncao has shown increased comfort at his new weight as the submission savvy and knockout power that made him a former WEC featherweight title challenger have returned with force.
“It has been a great move for my body,” Assuncao told Bleacher Report. “For my size and frame, 135 pounds fits me better, and a I feel really good here. I’ve actually gotten stronger because I’ve done a lot of strength and conditioning to actually lose the weight. It made me better.
“As a featherweight I was walking around at 155 pounds and would just have to cut those 10 extra pounds. I wasn’t being very professional. I would fly in to the city where we were having the event and make the weight right there. I didn’t diet prior to the camp. I would eat normally and then cut the weight to make the fight. Competing at bantamweight has only made me that much more professional.”
The strength of his performances in the bantamweight ranks—especially his two most recent victories over Mike Easton and Vaughan Lee—have ignited talk of a run at the 135-pound title. But while Assuncao has looked impressive in those bouts, neither opponent carried enough clout in the divisional picture to launch him to the front of the line, which means the immediate road ahead will undoubtedly carry the most weight where his title hopes are concerned.
“I think I’m picking up more momentum,” Assuncao said. “Everyone knows that every fight is different and there are different challenges every time you step out there. The Easton fight was short-notice and I had never fought on short-notice before in my career. I wanted to fight him but the matchup was never put together. I liked his style to the point where I always wanted to fight him and I believed I could beat him.
“Then I got the call a few weeks before and got the fight. I don’t think it was my best performance. However, I was able to nullify Mike Easton and beat him, but suffered a broken forearm in the fight. For my next fight, I was coming off the injury, fighting in Brazil against Vaughan Lee. He has two losses in the UFC but he’s a very talented striker and I was able to beat him. I think both of those wins were good but I have more challenges ahead.”
Assuncao knows the best the division has to offer is coming up around the bend, and while this is enough to light the fires of motivation, the next step of his journey has provided a different kind of inspiration. While the date is yet to be set for the official showdown, the surging contender will face fast-rising prospect T.J. Dillashaw at an event later this year.
The TUF alum is a member of Team Alpha Male, a squad headed up by perennial contender Urijah Faber. Assuncao and “The California Kid” locked up back in 2010 inside the “little blue cage of the WEC,” and while he doesn’t harbor any personal ill-will with Team Alpha Male, he sees the bout with Dillashaw as his chance to even out the score with the Sacramento-based collective.
“I think it’s going to happen and I believe the UFC wants that matchup. I’m preparing for T.J. Dillashaw right now. He’s very gifted and he’s very talented. He has great work ethic and I know he is a great athlete. I’m not leaving anything back on this. I’m focused and it will be a great fight. I’m not going to lose. I’ve lost to Urijah Faber before and I’m not going to lose to Team Alpha Male again.
“For me, it’s not personal. I respect the Alpha Male guys a lot, but this time it is going to be a little bit different. I fought Urijah Faber and this time around, I’m not going out there with respect. Against Faber, I was caught up in the hype, and this time things are going to be different.
“There are a lot of factors for title shots,” Assuncao added. “It all depends on performance and how good you look on the night of the fight, but I’m looking at this fight to be for the No.1 contender spot. I’m taking it very seriously and I’m looking forward to it, man. My last fight was only seven weeks ago, so everything is fresh and I’m going into training feeling great. I’m putting all of my focus on the next chapter and this next fight.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
T.J. Dillashaw and Raphael Assuncao first met on October 9, 2013, when the Brazilian scored a split-decision victory in a closely contested battle. Fast forward less than three years to UFC 200, and the rematch went to Dillashaw, who swept the judges’ scorecards on Saturday.