Grant (15-6) dropped Assuncao with a spinning back-fist and then immediately dropped for an inverted triangle that was tight enough to put his opponent to sleep in the octagon.

“I’m absolutely over the moon. It was a great fight. It’s an honor to share the cage with Raphael specially seeing as though it was his last go in the octagon. It means a lot to me,” Grant told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

Following the fight, while the result was being announced, Assuncao did put his gloves down in a manner indicating that he was retiring in the octagon.

“I didn’t know. Like I said it was an honor to share his last performance in the octagon,” he said.

Have to hand it so Assuncao who put on a great performance in the octagon only to come up short in the final moments of the third round.

“To be honest I was expecting a good war you know. Raphael he’s very durable. I know he had a bit of bad run, but his chin looked good tonight I thought. I expected him to get ahold of me, grind me, and I knew I was just going to have to patient in some sticky spots and look for the finish,” Grant said.

“I’m a big fan (of Assuncao). He came at me with what I thought he was going to do. He swings big, tries to get it to the floor, he’s got good defense. I feel like yeah he’s an all-around good fighter. It was just nice to go and get the win against him.”

In the third round Grant was docked a point by the referee due to a fence grab that helped him stay off the ground meaning he’d likely need a finish to win.

“Third round (his coach) said you’re going to have to knock him out. He said we’re probably down two rounds now. I felt the second round was close. I didn’t want to leave it in the judge’s hands. More volume going in there and start swinging. Let him feel, let him know what your hands are like,” he said.

Grant mentioned he would have liked to be on the UFC 286 card in London, but was booked for Vegas instead. He joked he’d like to fight on that card next weekend anyway.

“London if anyone’s available, if anyone drops off, I’ll start cutting weight this week,” he laughed.

“I’ve just got to cut weight this week and put some banana skins around the (fighter) hotel. Nah I’m joking, I’m joking!”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Davey Grant above.

The post UFC Las Vegas: Davey Grant Says It’s An Honor To Face Assuncao In Retirement Fight appeared first on Cageside Press.

Assuncao and Grant were both coming off single wins that had snapped their respective losing streaks; Grant, for his part, had earned post-fight bonuses in four of his last five fights.

He put in an effort that might land him another at UFC Las Vegas.

Raphael Assuncao showed last time out that he still had a lot to give. And that could be said for the start of this fight. A counter overhand right from Assuncao turned Grant’s lights on and resulted in him throwing a kick that was caught by the Brazilian. The veteran threatened on the back of Grant after pushing him down to the floor, but because of their cage position, it made it difficult for him to wrap in the second hook. The Brit made it back to his feet, relatively unharmed.

Grant then landed a big straight right hand that pushed Assuncao back momentarily. The leg kick of Assuncao became his clear weapon of choice to try and halt the forward pressure of Grant. After a close round one, both veterans made it back to their corners for round two.

The second round began with some more forward pressure from Davey Grant, but Assuncao looked slightly more comfortable in this round. Raphael ducked under a big right hand attempt from Grant and latched onto the single leg attempt, but couldn’t secure it. Grant once again tried to close the distance with a low leg kick, but Assuncao returned a big counter right hand.

Assuncao’s lateral movement made it difficult for Grant to nail down his timing, and because of this he was unable to get much offence going in the second round. The Brazilian once again managed to secure a takedown with just under a minute left of round two and did well to maintain strong wrist control to keep Grant where he wanted him for the rest of the round.

Going into round three, Eric Nicksick told Assuncao that he needed to put the pressure on as he was unsure how rounds one and two would’ve been scored. Despite that, it was his counter work and counter grappling that were giving him the clear advantage in the fight.

Grant landed himself a heavy right hand behind the ear of Assuncao in the third, momentarily dropping him to his backside. Not long after though, the 40-year-old found himself securing another takedown. He wasn’t able to keep the Brit down for long though, and Grant made it back to his feet and once again landed some heavy shots to a laboured Assuncao. The latter attempted another takedown and was deep on the heel of Grant quite close to the fence, and due to grabbing the fence was deducted a point.

After being deducted a point Grant knew for a fact he needed a finish in the final moments of round three. After landing a huge spinning back fist, Assuncao was dropped to his knee’s and shot for an emergency takedown. Unfortunately for the vet, he was caught in a reverse triangle by the dogged Brit and was put unconscious by Grant. A huge, come from behind submission win for Davey Grant, with a rarely seen reverse triangle.

DANGEROUS DAVEY GRANT! @DaveyGrantMMA #UFCLasVegas pic.twitter.com/FOF5Dtqr5G

— UFC (@ufc) March 11, 2023

Raphael Assuncao took off the gloves following the fight, laying them down in the cage to signal his retirement. “I think my time has come now. I put a lot of effort into this training camp, away from my family. I think it’s time for me,” he told Daniel Cormier in his post-fight interview.

Official Result: Davey Grant def. Raphael Assuncao by submission (reverse triangle), Round 3, 4:43

The post UFC Las Vegas: Davey Grant Pulls Off Sensational Reverse Triangle, Raphael Assuncao Retires appeared first on Cageside Press.

Iridium Sports Agency was the first to break the news.

Assuncao (28-9) looks to build off his decision victory over Victor Henry in October of 2022. That win snapped a 4-fight losing streak for the long time UFC veteran, and this fight will mark his second bout since moving his camp to Las Vegas.

Phillips (10-2) is one of the rising stars at 135-pounds. Out of the famed MMA Lab in Arizona he looks to start another win streak coming off a submission victory over Marcelo Rojo at UFC 271.

UFC Vegas 71 will mark the first fight night card set in Las Vegas that isn’t taking place at the UFC APEX.

The card is currently set as follows:

• Anthony Smith vs. TBD (Smith lost the Jamahal Hill fight when Hill was set to face Glover Teixeira for the light heavyweight title at UFC 283. No word on possible replacement as of this post.)
• J.J. Aldrich vs. Ariane Lipski
• Mario Bautista vs. Guido Cannetti
• Lukasz Brzeski vs. Karl Williams
• Sedriques Dumas vs. Abu Azaitar
• Kyler Phillips vs. Raphael Assuncao

UFC Vegas 71 takes place at The Theatre at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas on March 11th.

The post Raphael Assuncao vs. Kyler Phillips Set For UFC Vegas 71 appeared first on Cageside Press.

The problem with recent Fight Nights, highlighted by some, is that the bouts involved have had no relevance to their respective division rankings. Last night was different though. Let’s take a look at what could be next for the winners on the night.

Alexa Grasso

The women’s flyweight division is one that is constantly crying out for fresh contenders. Up steps the 29-year-old, Alexa Grasso. With the champ Valentina having already defeated the women occupying the top 4 rankings, Grasso arrives at rank 5 as someone Valentina is yet to share the cage with.

There were question marks before this bout on how both women’s cardio would hold up. The questions were buried, as in the main event rounds, both competitors looked as fresh as they did in the opening round.

Not only is Grasso fresh competition for Shevchenko, but she earned a title shot with a complete performance. Her willingness to stick behind a counter heavy game-plan, and execute it pristinely, has in my opinion outlined her as the next to challenge for the title.

The only stumbling block in making that Grasso’s next fight, is that Manon Fiorot is taking on rank 1 Katlyn Chookaigon at UFC 280. With a Fiorot win, it’d be pretty hard to deny her the title shot. If the aforementioned does in fact happen, a match-up between Grasso and Santos would suffice.

Alexa Grasso’s Next Fight: Valentina Shevchenko or Talia Santos 

Jonathan Martinez

Martinez put on a performance that may well have been a career best at UFC Vegas 62. With Cub Swanson trying to reignite his career by moving down to bantamweight, there were far more favourable tests they could’ve given him than the surging Martinez.

The first round didn’t go completely against the veteran, but the “Dragon” began doing some nice work on the feet towards the end, and just before the bell landed a beautiful spinning back fist, dropping Swanson with the latter being saved by the bell. On the stool in between round 1 and 2, the 38-year-old looked to be wincing in pain grabbing at his rib as though he knew he’d broken one.

In round 2, Martinez exemplified his youthfulness with some more extremely slick striking. The Factory X product showcased his teams culture, and blitzed Swanson with 3 brutal leg kicks in the span of 2 minutes, with Swanson unable to take anymore.

Although Martinez used his mic time to call out a certain Dominick Cruz, i’m not sure that’s a move the UFC will make next for him. The reason being that Cruz currently occupies rank 7. Having said that, I would love to see him face either Cruz or Munhoz in his next outing.

Jonathon Martinez’ Next Fight: Dominick Cruz or Pedro Munhoz

Dusko Todorovic

Going into this bout, I don’t think there was a fan around the world that thought this fight would need the scorecards. Prior to this fight, Todorovic’s last 2 hadn’t seen the second round, and the same rang true for Wright’s last 3.

The theme of round 1 was relentless pressure from Wright, pressure that almost resulted in another first round finish for “The Beverly Hills Ninja”. But he was unable to get Todorovic out of there, and this would come back to bite him.

In round 2, the relentless pressure was switched, and it was the 28-year-old Serbian that was doing the damage. After a long barrage of punches, Todorovic got Wright to the ground and transitioned to full mount where he reigned down some fatigued shots. Chris Tognoni had seen enough and stepped in, seeing Todorovic get back into the win column.

Someone who is also coming off the back of an impressive victory is Abus Magomedov. To me, that is a match-up that could be extremely fun.

Dusko Todorovic’s Next Fight: Abus Magomedov

Raphael Assuncao

Raphael Assuncao rolled back the years this past Saturday with a glorious performance over the pressure fighter, Victor Henry. Looking at Assuncao’s past 4 performances, you could say a win here was imperative for his future based purely on his age.

Let’s not get it twisted though, the losses the 40-year-old has suffered in recent years have all come to extremely elite opponents. Henry was coming into this bout off the back of an impressive victory over Raoni Barcelos, who himself looked great in his last outing.

Assuncao went back to the style that he found so much success in early on in his career, counter striking. Every time Henry tried to close the distance with a combination of punches, he found himself getting blasted with a heavy Assuncao overhand. It was a performance that showed he still has a lot to give.

Having said that, let’s not get carried away with who we match him up with next. The aforementioned, Raoni Barcelos, would be a great match-up in my opinion.

Raphael Assuncao’s Next Fight: Raoni Barcelos

Alonzo Menifield

“Atomic” Alonzo Menifield was coming in off the back of a perfect win over the controversial Askar Mozharov. He replicated that victory this time out, with another flawless performance, this time over Misha Cirkunov at UFC Vegas 62.

He only needed 1:28 to get the job done, finishing the fight with a frightening uppercut that completely flatlined Cirkunov. With Menifield’s last 2 performances being so impressive, maybe it is time for a step up in competition for the 34-year-old.

Someone who is coming off a loss, but is always involved in entertaining fights, is Ion Cutelaba. A fight between those two men would guarantee fireworks.

Alonzo Menifield’s Next Fight: Ion Cutelaba

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 62 Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I was doing some math work over there. I haven’t won a fight since 2018 so….lot of up and downs, but we made it happen,” Assuncao told Cageside Press among other media at his post-fight scrum.

“I made some changes as I mentioned also. New team, new camp, new everything. It worked out well. Very glad.”

Assuncao showed a lot of emotion in the octagon following the victory as he spoke with Paul Felder.

“Just a lot of thoughts you know. My family back home. They’re supporting me 100%. Being out here for two months. Not to mention coming off four losses. Pretty tough you know. This being your job, your career for such a long time, and just having those losses. You start to question yourself,” Assuncao said.

Assuncao described not knowing what the issue really was whether he was having mental or physical issues that contributed to the losses.

“You have to add it all together and figure out a way. Just like life. You’ve got to figure it out and we were able to figure it out. I’m very glad I made the choices that I made this last time and we pulled it through,” he said.

One of Assuncao’s choices was to go to Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas to prepare for this fight. Assucano said that he showed up without calling ahead and letting them know.

“Part of the Vegas decision was the PI. Obviously the UFC PI is here, but you know sometimes the UFC PI is a great physical facility, but you don’t have the mentals. They’re more professionals, they’re super professionals up in there, but you don’t have the coaching. Game planning, you know, you’ve got to do that in the MMA gym,” he said.

“When I came to Xtreme…it was like a bird flying from the sky. Just landed there. I had to previous planning with coaches. I just popped in and they accepted me (with) open arms. They know how I feel about this. Great respect.”

When many other gyms may have turned Assuncao away due to the age and the recent losing streak Xtreme instead took him in right away and got him ready to go.

Assuncao did admit that retirement had been on his mind recently had he lost the fight to Henry or at least made the move up to 145-pounds.

“I’m not being proud about it. I would have probably made the switch to featherweight. I’m not positive if I would have still been in the UFC. I don’t know…5 losses is probably not a good number to be in the UFC. If I decided not to retire, had I lost today, I probably would have moved up in weight class,” he said.

“It worked out good. Had I lost maybe…maybe a retirement from the bantamweight division.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Raphael Assuncao above.

The post UFC Vegas 62: Raphael Assuncao Would Have Considered Retirement With A Loss appeared first on Cageside Press.

Henry, who earned acclaim with a thrilling victory over another technical maestro in Raoni Barcelos early this year, was now in the hunt for a ranking while Assunção looked to get back to his winning ways— which had seen him win eleven out of twelve fights in the UFC at one point. The Brazilian was known for being great at diffusing his opponents’ offense and pace, while the catch-wrestler Henry is known for enforcing an extremely high pace. That juxtaposition seemed likely to create an extremely interesting match-up, on paper anyways.

The first big strike of the fight was a body kick from Henry that Assunção caught, after which both men landed awkward hammerfists. But early on Henry was largely passive with his strikes even as he pressed Assunção back to the fence. The old Brazilian master’s defense was proving hard to break through. Front kicks to the body of Assunção were the most successful part of Henry’s game early. Assunção shot a takedown halfway through the round which Henry stuffed, but Assunção landed a good strike on the break, his best so far. Raphael began to use clinch exchanges to smother his opponents forward pressure. Every time, Henry got back to range and forced his opponent back to the fence. The counter punching of Assunção began to find the target as the round went on and when the bell rang it had been a close one. Raphael Assunção may or may not have lost the round, but he looked better than he had in his last outing for sure.

A spinning back kick to the stomach opened the second round for Henry. Assunção responded with one of his own but his offering missed. A big right hand landed from Assunção but Henry ate it with no problem. A big wheel kick from Victor Henry saw him fall to the mat and Assunção jumped on top of him as Henry tried to lock up an arm-bar with no success. Henry was able to explode back to his feet and get back to striking range. When Assunção caught a leg of Henry he was able to chase him across the octagon, landing big right hands the whole time before finally taking down his opponent. Henry again looked for submissions off of his back, throwing up triangle and arm-bar attempts, but the savvy Brazilian was careful to stay out of them. This time, Assunção held Henry down and did significant damage on the mat, avoiding a leg lock at the very end of the round. The middle round was a clear 10-9 for Assunção and Henry was cut open when he walked back to his stool.

A big counter left wobbled Henry in the opening exchange of the round. Despite his forward pressure, Assunção’s counter striking was too sharp for Henry to build into his offense much. A single leg takedown was landed by Assunção a minute and a half into the round. Henry worked to build to his feet and did so successfully after only a few seconds. Henry started bringing elbows into his offense with success and it appeared Assunção was beginning to tire even though he was still having a lot of striking success. Raphael burned some clock with attempted takedowns that ended up with clinch exchanges. By holding up Henry’s leg he was able to keep Henry from breaking free and getting to open space until the last ten seconds. The fight ended with a missed strike from Henry and it seemed Assunção had done enough to win with his technical savvy.

When Joe Martinez read the scorecards all three judges saw it the same, giving Raphael Assunção the win 30-27. An emotional Assunção gave a heartfelt post-fight interview with Paul Felder, talking about the support he has received from the team at Xtreme Couture including head coach Erik Nicksick, who was in his corner Saturday night. Assunção said he had thought of retirement but he decided to stick with it for now. The forty year old legend, who has beaten the likes of Marlon Moraes, Aljamain Sterling, TJ Dillashaw, and even Jorge Masvidal in his storied career, had turned back the clock.

An emotional @RaphaAssuncao pulls out the shutout victory 👏 #UFCVegas62 pic.twitter.com/JygXOYgJBp

— UFC (@ufc) October 15, 2022

Official Result: Raphael Assunção def. Victor Henry by unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)

The post UFC Vegas 62: Raphael Assunção Turns Back the Clock, Defeats Victor Henry by Decision appeared first on Cageside Press.

Raphael Assuncao, who had long flirted with title contention, had lost three straight, with all the implications such a streak carries with it surrounding him heading into the final UFC event of the year. Opponent Ricky Simon, meanwhile, had won three straight — and was hoping a victory over a ranked veteran would break him back into the bantamweight division’s top 15.

A low blow by Ricky Simon halted this one almost as soon as it had started. Assuncao took a few moments to recover; back underway, Simon took the fight to the ground, stacking the Brazilian up against the fence. When Assuncao scrambled out, he fired a spinning back fist upon his return to his feet, only to be taken down again.

Round two found Simon walking down his opponent, and that paid off soon enough. Simon clipped the Brazilian with a right hand, and Assuncao slumped back against the fence. Ricky Simon was right on top of his fallen foe, landing an uppercut and a few more ground strikes to seal the deal.

STATEMENT: MADE ✅

[ @RickySimonUFC | #UFCVegas45 ] pic.twitter.com/7WIZPsLTOg

— UFC (@ufc) December 19, 2021

Not an entirely unexpected outcome for Simon at UFC Vegas 45, but the violence behind it should make fans take notice. Come early next week, Simon should once again be a top 15 fighter in the UFC bantamweight division.

Official Result: Ricky Simon def. Raphael Assuncao by knockout, Round 2, 2:14

The post UFC Vegas 45: Ricky Simon Swarms Raphael Assuncao, Scores KO Finish appeared first on Cageside Press.

On Wednesday at UFC Vegas 45 media day, the UFC veteran explained why he has been away for so long.

“Man, the first of the year, I had a car accident and had a bone bruise on my left elbow. Subsequently, I got COVID right after that. So, I had a car accident and didn’t know I had COVID. That all balled up into the postponement of my February 27 fight, which was then booked later for June, which I signed for,” Assuncao told reporters, including Cageside Press, during Wednesday’s media day. “So February 27 was cancelled because I had COVID, and my elbow was bothering me a lot.”

Assuncao went on to say that “I re-signed for June with a different opponent, which was Kyler Phillips. I was supposed to fight Kyler, and then I tore my bicep in training camp; it was too long of a training camp. That’s all I can remember anyway, March, April, May, June; I was just over-training, trying to get back in shape from my February fight that was scheduled. I was operated on a week after, and here we are.”

Assuncao sees himself on the first three-fight losing streak of his long career. Next, he faces Ricky Simon, who is looking to take his No. 12 ranking. Simon is on the opposite trajectory, entering the bout on a three fight win streak, but is sitting outside the top 15.

Assuncao told the media that he didn’t care who it was, and that isn’t any disrespect to Simon; he just wanted to fight. The Brazilian is using Simon’s hunger for the rankings as motivation.

“Obviously he’s going to be a hungry guy. I think I’m still 11, 12 or so and he’s top 15 I think. So I’m sure he’s going to be pretty motivated for that as well, and on top of that, my last fight wasn’t very good. So they probably look at that, ‘okay yeah, I’ll fight that guy.’ I take that into consideration. I’m pretty realistic as to what’s going on in the horizon. So I’m like, okay, let’s use it as motivation as well. Let him bring his thing, and I’m going to be well-prepared.”

Watch the rest of Raphael Assuncao’s interview above. More coverage of the event, which takes place this Saturday, December 18, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV, can be found below.

The post UFC Vegas 45: Raphael Assuncao Details His Lengthy Layoff appeared first on Cageside Press.

On Friday, MMA DNA was first to report that Simon is set to take on Raphael Assuncao as part of the UFC’s December 18 Fight Night event. It’s a change in plans for Simon, who earlier this year had been announced by the UFC to be taking on Timur Valiev at UFC 266.

Despite being part of a press release announcing the PPV card, Simon vs. Valiev was apparently not a done deal. Eventually, Valiev was paired with Daniel Santos for a fight next month, which has also fallen through.

Simon (18-3), meanwhile, will head into the fight with Assuncao riding a three fight win streak. In that stretch, he’s posted wins against Ray Borg, Gaetano Pirrello, and Brian “Boom” Kelleher. Kicking off his career with the UFC in 2018, the bantamweight is 6-2 overall, with his only losses coming to Urijah Faber and Rob Font.

Assuncao (27-8) has been on the exact opposite trajectory of late. He’s lost his past three fights, against Marlon Moraes, Cory Sandhagen, and Cody Garbrandt. In his last outing, he was knocked senseless by ex-champ Garbrandt.

It’s worth noting that Assuncao’s level of competition has pretty much been the top five of the bantamweight division of late.

The UFC’s December 18, 2021 event does not yet have a location, venue, or broadcast plan officially announced. The Apex is Las Vegas is likely, however. The following bouts have been reported for the event to date:

Amanda Lemos vs. Nina Ansaroff
Anthony Hernandez vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
Don’Tale Mayes vs. Josh Parisian
Raphael Assuncao vs. Ricky Simon

The post Ricky Simon vs. Raphael Assuncao Added to UFC’s December 18 Card appeared first on Cageside Press.

No. 14 ranked bantamweight Kyler Phillips teased on his Instagram Story that he will be fighting No. 10 ranked Raphael Assuncao on July 24 at a yet-to-be-announced UFC event. Phillips would later post on his own Instagram account that it was official.

Assuncao (27-8) is coming off a devastating knockout loss to a returning Cody Garbrandt at UFC 250 in his only fight in 2020. The Brazilian fighter is on the first three-fight losing streak of his career, with losses to Cory Sandhagen and Marlon Moraes. While he is ranked 10 in the rankings, Assuncao might be fighting for his job while defending his spot.

Phillips (9-1) is coming off the biggest win of his career to date when he beat Song Yadong via unanimous decision at UFC 259 and snatched his ranking. “The Matrix” is riding a four-fight win streak, with three of the wins coming in 2020. He beat Cameron Else via TKO and Gabriel Silva via unanimous decision.

The UFC’s July 24 event does not have an official location, venue, or broadcast plan announced. The following bouts have been reported for the Fight Night card:

• Aspen Ladd vs. Macy Chiasson
• Maycee Barber vs. Miranda Maverick
• Trevin Jones vs. Tony Kelley
• Raphael Assunção vs. Kyler Phillips
• Randy Costa vs. Adrian Yanez
• Mickey Gall vs. Jordan Williams

The post Raphael Assuncao vs. Kyler Phillips Set For July 24 UFC Event appeared first on Cageside Press.