R. Assunção (photo) beat B. Caraway in the co-main fight of UFC FN 54. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
Close to fighting for the belt for at least a year, the Brazilian Raphael Assunção had his dream postponed once again after the overwhelming return of Dominick Cruz, who returned after three years away and secured himself as the next challenger. After hitting Bryan caraway last Saturday (04), in Halifax (Canada) and extend his undefeated streak to seven consecutive victories, Raphael acknowledged that he did not have his best performance and admitted that he felt pressured by the situation involving the title and Cruz's return.
“It wasn’t my best performance. I had a lot on my mind, and feelings, because of this belt situation. Dominick Cruz I had done something fantastic, so in my mind I had to do something similar. Not literally, but I was like: 'the guy had a great performance, I need to do something like that'. There's a lot at stake, that's MMA. But it was another victory and a tough fight”, said the Brazilian in an interview with the official UFC YouTube channel.
Furthermore, Assunção justified why he asked for his next fight to be valid for the title. “I had to do it, because if I didn't do it, my team would hold me accountable for it: 'Hey, man, ask for a title fight.' This must happen, you know... “, said the Brazilian, who also took the opportunity to praise the way his opponent presented himself. "O Bryan caraway kept coming up the whole time. He said he would fight like that and he did. I respect Caraway, I’m happy with the victory,” he commented.
At 32, Raphael Assunção has a professional record of 23 wins and four losses. The Pernambuco-born native of Pernambuco is on a seven-fight winning streak and currently occupies fourth place in the UFC bantamweight rankings, behind Urijah faber, Dominick Cruz, Renan Barao and the champion TJ Dillashaw.
Check out the full interview below Raphael Assunção:
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