UFC Albany: Aljamain Sterling to Face Raphael Assuncao
UFC Albany added three fights over the weekend, with the most significant being a match between top bantamweights Aljamain Sterling and Raphael Assuncao.
Perhaps lost in the shuffle with all the attention focused on this past Saturday’s event was the addition of a bantamweight bout between New York native Aljamain Sterling and Raphael Assuncao to the UFC Fight Night 102 card in December.
The bout was announced by Sterling himself in a post on his Twitter account.
UFC Fight Night 102 takes place on December 9 at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York. The card is is in the early stages of coming together and no headlining bout has been announced as of yet.
Sterling suffered the first loss of his career in his last fight, losing to Bryan Caraway in May. He previously won the first 12 bouts of his careers, which included UFC wins over the likes of Hugo Viana, Johnny Eduardo, and Takeya Mizugaki.
Assuncao also looks to rebound from a loss in his last fight as he was defeated by TJ Dillashaw in July. The loss snapped an impressive seven fight winning streak Assuncao had accrued over an almost six year period, with notable wins during the streak coming over Mike Easton, Pedro Munhoz, Bryan Caraway and Dillashaw as well.
This is a pivotal fight for both men who are ranked in the top 10. The winner will inch closer to a title shot and adding their name to the crowded bantamweight title discussion alongside the likes of other recent big winners John Lineker and Cody Garbrandt.
Also added to the card was a women’s strawweight battle between Tatiana Suarez and Juliana Lima. Suarez defeated Amanda “Bobby” Cooper to become one of the newest Ultimate Fighters in July and garnered plenty of hype in the process. Juliana Lima is looking to recover from a recent loss against Carla Esparza that dropped her UFC record to 2-2.
Lastly, a fun heavyweight fight between Francis Ngannou and Anthony Hamilton will be on the card in New York’s capital. Ngannou has torn through his first three opponents, failing to reach the third round thus far. Anthony Hamilton’s Octagon journey began in 2014, and since then he is 3-3, most recently knocking out Damian Grabowski in just 14 seconds.
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