Possible Opponents for Dominick Cruz’s Bantamweight Title

#4. Raphael Assunção

Now he’s back, and he is more ready than ever

Raphael Assunção is an extremely talented fighter whose overall game is based on a very sturdy defensive approach. He is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and trains out of Ascension Mixed Martial Arts in Atlanta, Georgia.

He has previously fought for the WEC and has notable wins over Jorge Masvidal, Joe Lauzon, Yves Jabouin, Mike Easton, Vaughan Lee, and T J Dillashaw. The notable losses in his career are against Urijah Faber and Diego Nuñes.

When the WEC ceased operations in late 2011, Raphael was signed by the UFC as a featherweight. He would lose his first fight to Eric Koch by brutal KO at UFC 128. He would drop to bantamweight after this fight.

In his 135 pound debut, he was able to earn a unanimous decision win over Johnny Eduardo but was out for six months after with a broken nose. He would continue his winning ways with three wins in less than a year over Issei Tamura, Mike Easton and Vaughan Lee.

He next fought TJ Dillashaw at UFC Fight Night 29. In a very exciting and close back and forth fight, Raphael was able to pick the split decision victory.

The 33-year-old veteran had been on a tremendous seven-fight stretch of success before running into serious injury issues. He made it 7 in a row (and 7-0 total at Bantamweight) by defeating Bryan Caraway at UFC Fight Night 54.

This past year has seen some intriguing developments in the 135-pound landscape that have likely pushed the idle Assunção further back in the pack when it comes to his title pursuit.

Assunção tale of woe is a lengthy one. He had to turn down a title fight against Renan Barão at UFC 173 because of a rib injury sustained in his unanimous decision win over Pedro Munhoz. Assuncao’s pain proved to be Dillashaw’s gain as he secured gold with a stunning upset of “The Baron” in Las Vegas.

Dillashaw became an overnight star and then climbed the pound-for-pound ladder with a pair of dominant title defenses.

Assunçào was the last man to defeat Dillashaw before Cruz, as he eked out a hard-fought split-decision win in Brazil against Dillashaw at Fight Night 29. The entertaining back-and-forth battle produced the Fight of the Night.

It appeared a rematch was in the cards after Cruz tore his ACL in late December. Unfortunately, Assunçào would also announce that he’d broken his ankle during training and has been on the shelf since. He hasn’t fought since a dominant unanimous decision win over Bryan Caraway at Fight Night 54 in Canada.

While the Brazilian has 13 wins by knockout or submission in his 23 career triumphs, Assunção has only produced a pair of finishes during this impressive stretch. His workmanlike approach isn’t exactly crowd pleasing.

His condition is somewhat similar to that of light heavyweight contender Ryan Bader. Good enough to defeat top notch opposition, but not good enough to take a shot at the title.

But if he manages to get past Dillashaw. He might get that golden opportunity. And Assunção will give a hell of a fight to Cruz.