If Dillashaw looking to Sactown, UFC Fight Night 29's Assuncao looking to Barao

Raphael Assuncao hasn’t heard everything T.J. Dillashaw has said leading up to their Wednesday fight, but he has heard a thing or two.

Namely, Assuncao heard Dillashaw tell MMAjunkie.com Radio that he’d love to beat Assuncao, then make his way onto the UFC on FOX 9 card this December in Sacramento, where he trains at Team Alpha Male.

OK, then. If that’s where Dillashaw’s mind is wandering toward, Assuncao said, he can go one better. The Atlanta-based Brazilian said he’ll be focused on getting past Dillashaw so he can get a shot at interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao.

Assuncao (20-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) and Dillashaw (8-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) meet on the main card of UFC Fight Night 29, which takes place at Jose Correa Arena in Barueri, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The main card airs on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on the same channel. Assuncao is ranked No. 9 and Dillashaw No. 12 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA bantamweight rankings.

“I overheard T.J. is looking forward to getting past me and fighting in Sacramento,” Assuncao told MMAjunkie.com Radio. “Good for him. I’m looking forward to beating him and fighting for the world title. I’m not going to sit here and turn into Chael Sonnen, all respect to him. But if he’s looking past me to fight in Sacramento in front of his home crowd, I’m looking past him to fight for a world title. This time, I’m not letting it go through my hands.”

Barao just defended his interim title with a second-round TKO win over Eddie Wineland at UFC 165 in Toronto in September. It’s expected that the Brazilian will meet champ Dominick Cruz in early 2014 when Cruz finally is able to return from back-to-back knee surgeries.

But if that can’t happen, Assuncao would be glad to step in if he leaves Brazil with a win over Dillashaw, who is more than a 2-to-1 favorite in the fight.

And he thinks he’s got what it takes to give Barao a rough go of it – at least more, he believes, than guys like Urijah Faber, who already has lost to Barao.

“Everyone’s looking past me,” Assuncao said. “Urijah wants to fight for the title again? That’s not going to happen. I’m not going to be overconfident, but I have the style to fight Barao. I’ve seen highlights of the guy. I’ve heard what he’s doing in the gym. I beat Johnny Eduardo, and he’s got a similar style to Barao. I have the style to give Barao a little more trouble than Urijah. I have the style to have a great main event in Brazil against Barao.”

Of course, none of this means Assuncao is truly looking past Dillashaw. But with four straight wins in the UFC’s bantamweight division, he’s coming into the fight with more confidence than he’s had in a long time.

“It’s going to be a battle,” Assuncao said. “Every fight is a battle of wills, and I’m just glad that he’s confident. That’s going to make me sharper and give me that extra edge in the fight. The guy’s an athlete. It’s not like he’s never been in there against anybody. He’s put in some time and he’s training with a good group.

“I don’t give a damn what he says – I’ll still respect him. I think I’m still an up-and-comer. I’m developing every day.”

The fight with Dillashaw was supposed to happen a month ago, but Assuncao was forced out of UFC Fight Night 28, also in Brazil, when he broke some knuckles training. If it gets him one step closer to fighting for a UFC title, he’d gladly take that injury one more time.

“I busted my knuckles, and I don’t mind busing them again (against Dillashaw),” he said.

For more on UFC Fight Night 29, stayed tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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