‘Disappointed’ Assuncao Reacts To Garbrandt Death Punch

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Longtime Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight contender Raphael Assuncao suffered a major setback in his quest for a 135-pound title shot, suffering a devastating knockout loss to former division champion Cody Garbrandt in the UFC 250 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event last weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Brazilian was just a few seconds away from reaching the third and final frame before succumbing to “No Love,” but “Rapha” was back on social media the day after their “Sin City” showdown to let his fans know that he’s disappointed in the result, but thankfully uninjured.

“What’s up everyone, obviously I’m disappointed with the end of the fight,” Assuncao said on Instagram. “Obviously it was negative for me. No injuries, I don’t have any marks on my face. Just very unfortunate, a technical mistake, we’ll keep our heads up.”

Assuncao (27-8), who turns 38 in July, has now dropped three straight fights, a surprising turn of events considering his 11-1 hot streak from 2011-18 that resulted in victories over the likes of TJ Dillashaw, Aljamain Sterling, and Marlon Moraes, just to name a few.

As for Garbrandt (12-3), his victory at UFC 250 snapped his own three-fight skid and put him back into the thick of things at 135 pounds. The division is pretty much up for grabs now that Henry Cejudo has retired so it will be interesting to see how things play out in the second half of 2020.