R. Assunção (photo) comes from seven consecutive victories. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
Currently placed fourth in the UFC's bantamweight division and coming off a seven-fight winning streak, Raphael Assunção stated that he prefers to wait for his chance to fight for the belt instead of fighting against names like Renan Barao or Uirjah Faber.
The Brazilian will have to wait a long time before he can fight for the title, as the current champion, TJ Dillashaw, will have to make his next defense against the former champion Dominick Cruz, on a date that must still be confirmed by Ultimate. Thus, Assunção did not rule out fighting again, but said that his preference would be to wait for his chance.
“Now I think I should sit back and wait for a better opportunity. Urijah had the chance [to fight for the belt] four or five times, but I can't deny that if it makes sense, then so be it. Let’s see what happens”, said Raphael, in an interview with the North American website “MMA Fighting”.
Even though he lost to Faber in 2010, still in the WEC, Assunção isn't thinking about avenging the defeat any time soon. “Urijah is a tough fight, I would love to avenge a loss, but I think I'm a little ahead at the moment. The fight was a long time ago. I think I’m in a position to fight for the belt now instead of doing rematches,” he commented. As for the possibility of fighting Barão, the tone of the response was the same. “It's a great fight, but now I feel like I have to save myself a little and fight for the title. That’s my bet.”
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