Raphael Assuncao brushes off Wineland, Dillashaw options, wants UFC title shot

Left without an opponent for UFC 170 later this month, Raphael Assuncao isn’t running short on suitors. But it appears the Brazilian would much rather skip a step and move ahead for a title shot.

Assuncao (21-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC) was set to meet Franciso Rivera (10-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) on Feb. 22 in Las Vegas in what many believed might determine the next challenger for bantamweight champion Renan Barao, who defended his title in quick order on Saturday against Urijah Faber and left the fight virtually without a scratch.

But a Rivera broken hand knocked him out of the fight. It wasn’t long before a couple prominent names in the division started popping up. Recent title challenger Eddie Wineland told MMAjunkie on Monday that he’d love to step in for Rivera for the fight against Assuncao. Wineland (21-9-1 MMA, 3-3 UFC) is coming off a TKO of Yves Jabouin at UFC on FOX 10 just 10 days ago.

And T.J. Dillashaw (9-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) retweeted a pair of comments saying he should step in to face Assuncao. The two met in October in Brazil, and Assuncao won a debated split decision to snap Dillashaw’s four-fight winning streak. The two won “Fight of the Night” honors for the bout. Less than three weeks ago, Dillashaw took a unanimous decision against Mike Easton at UFC Fight Night 35.

But while Assuncao hasn’t yet heard if he’ll get a new opponent, he’d much rather just move right into a title fight with Barao – and he believes that Wineland and Dillashaw are trying to talk their way past him for a quicker path to Barao, themselves.

“I humbly consider myself to be in position to face the champion,” Assuncao told MMAjunkie. “Everyone else had their chance. I’m willing to wait two or three months to put in a good training camp. I’m in the right place. Now is my time. I haven’t spoken to the (UFC) yet. But now I’m solidly at No. 3. Urijah (Faber) tried and failed twice. (Michael) McDonald lost, too. Wineland didn’t last long. With all due respect, I think now is my turn.”

Assuncao is ranked No. 7 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA bantamweight rankings. Wineland sits at No. 4, while Dillashaw is No. 9. Barao, as champion, of course, is No. 1. In the UFC’s official rankings, Assuncao sits at No. 3 ahead of Wineland at No. 4, but behind Faber and McDonald.

Assuncao said a fight with Wineland “doesn’t make much sense right now,” despite believing he would be a good opponent.

“He recently had his shot at the belt. He didn’t last long against the champion,” Assuncao said of Wineland’s TKO loss to Barao at UFC 165. “He just fought Yves Jabouin, who’s someone I’ve defeated in the past. Now Wineland wants a fight against No. 3 – that would be me. He’s looking for a quicker route back to the belt. But I’ve never had a quick route. I built my career one fight at a time. I’ve fought hurt and on short notice. I’ve fought everyone they put in front of me. It’s very easy for Wineland to volunteer to face me because he’s got nothing to lose.

“… I think Wineland is frustrated because he only lasted a few minutes against Barao. Now he wants to face me. Actually, I think it would be a cool fight, since Wineland is a tough guy with a good right hand and decent wrestling, plus he’s scrappy. But he doesn’t have a win streak like mine.”

And when it comes to Dillashaw, well, Assuncao doesn’t seem to care if it was a close fight or not. He said he fought him after a staph infection in training camp kept him from being able to do any ground work, and an injured left hand kept him limited in standup work.

“T.J. Dillashaw was talking stupid after he got a win over Mike Easton,” he said. “I beat Easton on three weeks’ notice. And I beat Dillashaw when I was hurt. During my camp, I was on antibiotics and couldn’t even punch a heavy bag or do pad work.

“… Dillashaw is saying I didn’t beat him. I might start posting photos of his bloody face after our fight. He had finished his previous three opponents, but but he couldn’t do it to me. … I fought Dillashaw and it was a great fight. We won the ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus. And now he’s saying he was robbed. I have the fight recorded on my DVR. If he wishes, we can sit down and watch it together. He took my back and hurt my eye while he had my back. But I rocked him at least four times. That’s what I have to say about that. I have no one that speaks on my behalf, so I have to do it myself.”

Assuncao, who trains in Atlanta, has won five straight with wins over Johnny Eduardo, Issei Tamura, Easton, Vaughan Lee and Dillashaw since dropping to bantamweight from featherweight in 2011.

He believes that run should have him in position to fight for the title now that Rivera, who has a five-fight winning streak and six-fight unbeaten streak at bantamweight, is out of their planned fight.

“Barao apparently didn’t get hurt this past weekend, so let’s do this thing,” he said. “I have a couple of very minor injuries; it’s nothing serious. Barao could have a few minor bumps, too. We can still make this fight happen. I’ll be talking to the boss soon and telling him how I feel. I’m not looking for an easy route. Wineland wants to face me now, and he’s on a one-fight winning streak. Dillashaw can talk all he wants, but I beat him too. Let’s see what the boss says.

“Ultimately, I’m going remain humble and wait for my time to arrive. God is in control. God chooses the perfect time, though sometimes you have to speak up. I was already making the case to face Barao a while back. Instead, I was booked against Rivera while Faber got another shot. Barao is the champion and the best in the world, but I think I can bring a different type of fight to him. And now Wineland wants to use me as a shortcut. I think he needs to wait his turn like I did.”

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