Raphael Assuncao on another title snub: 'It's hard to find the right words'
Raphael Assuncao sat in front of his TV on Saturday night and watched Dominick Cruz look sensational in his return at UFC 178. Then, his phone started ringing off the hook.
"I didn’t answer one phone call," Assuncao told FOX Sports. "What are you going to talk about, the Cruz fight to me?"
Assuncao was supposed to get a UFC bantamweight title shot against Renan Barao in May before a rib injury sidelined him. Now, it seems as if he's further away than ever.
At the UFC 178 post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White announced that Cruz, the former champion, would be next in line to face current titleholder T.J. Dillashaw, who beat Barao for the belt at UFC 173 in May. Barao is still also owed a rematch, though it will not be his next fight.
Meanwhile, Assuncao returns to the Octagon in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night on FOX Sports 1: MacDonald vs. Saffiedine on Saturday in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He needs a win against Bryan Caraway just to stay relevant in the title picture, which looks a hell of a lot different than it did just four months ago.
"It's hard to say [Cruz] doesn’t deserve it," Assuncao said. "It's hard to say I don't deserve it either. Whatever. He's more popular? The guy was a champ. … I'm happy for the guy. The guy deserves it. That doesn't change the fact that I think I'm the No. 1 challenger, because of my consistency."
Assuncao (22-4) is almost still trying to justify it to himself. He has won six straight and has quite the résumé with a win over Dillashaw on his docket. But Assuncao understands that MMA is all about timing sometimes. And there's nothing he can do to control that. All he can really do is beat Caraway and hope for the best.
"I wouldn’t say it's upsetting," Assuncao said. "It's hard to find the right words. I'm not really upset. It's just motivating right now. I'm keeping focused on the test I have."
It's a tough one, too. Assuncao is ranked No. 4 among bantamweight contenders and Caraway (19-6) is a few notches down at No. 10. Caraway has been quoted in interviews saying he's the best in the world on the ground and he's pretty darn good with his blend of folk-style wrestling, catch wrestling and jiu-jitsu. But Assuncao is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. He's pretty confident in his skills.
"I can avoid a lot of that stuff," Assuncao said of Caraway's gameplan. "What he's trying to do, I've seen. I've had guys on to of me, trying to beat me up. I've seen everything he's going to do."
Assuncao said he was initially unhappy when Barao was given a rematch with Dillashaw at UFC 177 in August. He felt that he should have been given the shot against Dillashaw since Dillashaw dominated Barao and Assuncao has already beaten the champion. But he has since gotten over it and said he was never "frustrated" by it.
"For me, being upset is different than being frustrated," Assuncao said. "Frustration, it's a little more deep inside. Being upset, you can get over it the next day."
Assuncao is hoping this Sunday the calls he gets aren't about Cruz, but about his big win over Caraway.
