Jorge Masvidal vs. Raphael Assuncao: When did the bout happen and who won?

Jorge Masvidal's first professional MMA defeat came when taking on Raphael Assuncao at International Sport Combat Federation in 2005. Assuncao managed to beat the current 'BMF' champion via unanimous decision after three rounds of fighting. The bout was close, as the Brazilian needed a strong final round to walk away victorious.

'Gamebred' was 5-0 heading into the contest and was just 20-years-old at the time. Masvidal had beaten Brandon Bledsoe, Brian Geraghty, Roli Delgado, Julian Ortega and Justin Wisniewski all under the Absolute Fighting Championship banner.

Raphael Assuncao was unbeaten in his first four professional MMA outings leading up to his fight with Jorge Masvidal. The Brazilian's first loss came against Jeff Curran in 2006 in what was his tenth pro bout.

Upon reflecting on the bout in March 2020 with BJPenn.com, Raphael Assuncao was very humble about the victory and didn't let his previous win cloud his constant pursuit of improvement:

"It is all part of the game. I don’t say 'Oh I beat Masvidal' but it is cool. I’ve been in this game for a long time. I’ve fought everybody man and always improving."

Assuncao recently ended a four-fight losing streak in the UFC after beating Victor Henry at UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Araujo this weekend. At 40-years-old, the Brazilian has fought some of the biggest names in MMA, including Jorge Masvidal, Cody Garbrandt, T.J. Dillashaw, Aljamain Sterling and many more.

Watch the Brazilian's emotional octagon interview here:

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Who was the first fighter to beat Jorge Masvidal in the UFC?

As mentioned, Raphael Assuncao was the first fighter to beat Jorge Masvidal in professional MMA. However, Rustam Khabilov was the first man to defeat 'Gamebred' after the latter transitioned to the UFC in 2013.

Khabilov managed to get the better of Masvidal on the judges' scorecards after three rounds of fighting at UFC Fight Night 31: Fight for the Troops 3. The decision was unanimous, with the Russian climbing to a 17-1 record in professional MMA. Masvidal's record went down to 25-8.

Check out a crazy snippet from the Masvidal-Khabilov fight below:

After suffering his first organizational defeat against the Russian, Masvidal managed to win in his next three UFC outings. 'Gamebred' claimed three unanimous decision victories against Pat Healy, Daron Cruickshank and James Krause in back-to-back bouts.