Nationality Brazilian Height 1.63 m Siblings Junior Assuncao Role Mixed martial artist | Name Raphael Assuncao Martial art Brazilian jiu-jitsu Reach 67.5 in (171 cm) Weight 66 kg | |
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Born July 19, 1982 (age 41)
Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil ( 1982-07-19 ) Division Featherweight (2004-2011)
Bantamweight (2011-present) Fighting out of Atlanta, Georgia, United States Team Ascension Mixed Martial Arts Rank Black Belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Similar People TJ Dillashaw, Bryan Caraway, Dominick Cruz, Renan Barao, Urijah Faber Profiles | ||
Notable relatives Junior Assuncao | ||
Insider training camp episode 1 raphael assuncao part i by genghis con
Raphael O. Assunção (born July 19, 1982) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of January 30, 2017, he is #4 in the official UFC bantamweight rankings and #6 by sherdog.com.
Contents
- Insider training camp episode 1 raphael assuncao part i by genghis con
- Insider training camp episode 1 raphael assuncao part ii by genghis con
- Biography
- World Extreme Cagefighting
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Mixed martial arts
- Raphael assun o calls out dominick cruz and cruz responds ufc fight night
- References
Insider training camp episode 1 raphael assuncao part ii by genghis con
Biography
Originally from Recife in Brazil, now lives and trains in Atlanta with Ascension MMA under Manu N'toh. He is also the brother of Júnior Assunção and Freddy Assunção who also fight as mixed martial artists. Raphael has a daughter.
World Extreme Cagefighting
Assunção joined the WEC in 2009, with a 12-1 professional record. He made his promotional debut on April 5, 2009 at WEC 40 against Jameel Massouh. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
He faced Yves Jabouin on September 2, 2009 at WEC 43. Assunção won the back and forth fight by split decision.
Assunção faced Urijah Faber on January 10, 2010 at WEC 46. Faber won the fight via third-round submission.
Assunção then faced Diego Nunes on June 20, 2010 at WEC 49. He lost the fight via split decision.
Assunção faced LC Davis on November 11, 2010 at WEC 52. Assunção won the fight via unanimous decision.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
On October 28, 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championshipa. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC.
Assunção was expected to face Manvel Gamburyan on March 19, 2011 at UFC 128, but Gamburyan was forced out of the bout with a back injury and replaced by Erik Koch. He lost the fight via KO in the first round.
Assunção next faced UFC newcomer Johnny Eduardo on August 27, 2011 at UFC 134. He won the fight via unanimous decision and was out up to 6 months with a possible nasal fracture.
Assunção faced Issei Tamura on July 11, 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV: Munoz vs. Weidman.v He won the fight via second-round TKO.
Assunção faced Mike Easton on December 8, 2012 at UFC on Fox 5, replacing an injured Bryan Caraway. He won the fight via unanimous decision despite suffering a broken arm during the first round.
Assunção faced Vaughan Lee on June 8, 2013 at UFC on Fuel TV 10. He won the fight via armbar submission in the second round.
Assunção was expected to face T.J. Dillashaw on September 4, 2013 at UFC Fight Night 28. However, the pairing was delayed and was rescheduled for a future event due to a minor medical issue for Assunção. The bout with Dillashaw was rescheduled and took place on October 9, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 29. Assunção defeated Dillashaw via split decision. The back and forth action earned both the participants Fight of the Night honors.
Assunção was expected to face Francisco Rivera at UFC 170. However, Rivera was forced from the bout due to a hand injury. Assunção instead faced touted UFC newcomer Pedro Munhoz. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Assunção was briefly linked to a Bantamweight Championship bout against Renan Barão on May 24, 2014 at UFC 173. However, Assunção opted to decline the bout as a rib injury sustained in his last bout at UFC 170 had not healed enough to resume the proper training in advance of the event. Barão instead faced, and was ultimately defeated by T.J. Dillashaw.
Assunção faced Bryan Caraway on October 4, 2014 at UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs. Saffiedine. He doubled the numbers of strikes Caraway threw and caught him with knees to win a unanimous decision victory.
On December 22, 2014, Assunção announced that he had suffered a broken ankle during training that would not require surgery, but is expected to be sidelined for up to 10 weeks.
A rematch with perennial contender Urijah Faber was expected to headline UFC Fight Night 62 on March 21, 2015. However, Assunção was forced out of the bout as an ankle first injured in mid-December 2014 was slow to heal and that he was unable to resume the proper training to prepare for the fight in that time frame. Subsequently, in August 2015, Assunção's management team announced that he would undergo surgery on the ankle and hoped to return by the end of the year.
A rematch with T.J. Dillashaw took place on July 9, 2016 at UFC 200. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Assunção was expected to face Aljamain Sterling on December 9, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 102. However, Sterling pulled out of the fight on November 23 citing injury. Assunção was subsequently removed from the card. The bout with Sterling was rescheduled and took place on January 28, 2017 at UFC on Fox 23. Assunção won the fight via split decision.