Bantamweight standouts looking to halt frustrating skids meet in this one as former champion Cody Garbrandt returns to take on Top 10 fixture Raphael Assuncao.
Assuncao made his divisional debut on August 27, 2011 and has been a staple of the rankings ever since, boasting victories over Sterling, TJ Dillashaw, Pedro Munhoz, and Marlon Moraes, to name a few. Timing has been the Brazilian’s greatest nemesis over the last several years, as injuries halted his initial momentum and congestion at the top of the division detoured his second push towards a title shot.
Now after an eight-year stretch where he went 11-1 with his only loss coming in a rematch with Dillashaw, the 37-year-old enters this weekend’s event on a two-fight slide and facing questions about his place in the pecking order in the increasingly deep and always competitive bantamweight division.
If Assuncao is the climber who has scaled 95 percent of the mountain, but never reached the peak, Garbrandt is the intrepid explorer who raced to the top, jammed his flag into the peak, and then lost his footing, leading to him tumbling down the other side of the hill. “No Love” managed to exceed the lofty expectations that were affixed to him as an undefeated prospect coming out of Team Alpha Male, going from making his UFC debut to winning championship gold in just under two years.
But it’s not just that he was able to make such a rapid climb that made Garbrandt stand out; it’s how he did it. He starched the previously unbeaten Thomas Almeida in his first main event assignment, followed it up with a 48-second win over Takeya Mizugaki, and then orchestrated one of the most impressive championship performances to date in dethroning Dominick Cruz at UFC 207, styling on the champion while sweeping the scorecards to complete his two-year, six-fight masterpiece.
Since then, however, it’s been tough sledding for the former titleholder, as Garbrandt has been stopped in three straight, including back-to-back bouts against arch rival Dillashaw. Now more than a year removed from his first-round loss to Pedro Munhoz at UFC 235, Saturday’s bout with Assuncao represents an opportunity for the Ohio native to end his tumble down the rankings and potentially begin another climb towards the division’s summit.
