Raphael Assuncao Could Earn Bantamweight Title Shot With UFC 170 Victory

Renan Barão could very well find out who his next opponent is this weekend at UFC 170.

The UFC bantamweight champion, who is fresh off a first-round TKO victory over Urijah Faber at UFC 169, doesn’t have a challenger lined up at the moment, but if fellow Brazilian Raphael Assuncao emerges victorious at UFC 170, it’s quite likely he’ll be the next man in line to face Barão.

Assuncao, who faces UFC newcomer Pedro Munhoz on the UFC 170 preliminary card, is 5-1 overall in the UFC but 5-0 since dropping down to 135 pounds in 2012, where he’s picked up victories over Johnny Eduardo, Issei Tamura, Mike Easton, Vaughan Lee, and TJ Dillashaw. The victory over Dillashaw, by the way, won Assuncao his first UFC post-fight bonus for Fight of the Night, and we all know the UFC is in the habit of giving exciting fighters title shots.

In an extremely shallow UFC bantamweight division, Assuncao’s resume really stands out as impressive, and if he can defeat former RFA bantamweight champ Munhoz this weekend, the UFC will have a hard time not giving him the next crack at Barão. I know that beating Munhoz, who hasn’t even fought in the Octagon yet, might not mean much to most casual fans, but hardcores who have been following him know that Munhoz is about as solid as a bantamweight prospect as there is out there. Although in most cases beating a prospect shouldn’t earn a fighter a title shot, it does in a UFC bantamweight division, where no one stands out as the next #1 contender.

Think about it. Despite being only 26 years of age, Barão has already essentially cleaned out the division. He’s defeated Faber twice. He’s beaten Eddie Wineland and Michael McDonald. And he beat Scott Jorgensen, Chris Cariaso and Brad Pickett before that. Outside of former champion Dominick Cruz, who is injured at the present time and whose return to the sport is very much in doubt, there is pretty much no one left for Barão to beat in his division. And that’s why I think Assuncao is a shoo-in for the next title shot at 135 pounds as long as he can beat Munhoz in somewhat-impressive fashion this weekend at UFC 170.

Although the UFC would love to have Barão headline PPV cards, outside of Cruz and Faber there is no opponent who he could match up with in the main event of a UFC PPV. Instead, it makes all the sense in the world for Barão to take on Assuncao (if he wins at UFC 170) in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card in Brazil this summer. That would be a big fight for the Brazilian fans, and I have to imagine the UFC is already thinking about this.

At 31 years of age, Assuncao is right smack dab in the middle of his prime. He’s a guy that’s constantly flown under the radar, but now, in 2014, he’s closer to a UFC title shot than he ever has been at any point of his career. Now, all he has to do is beat Munhoz and prove to the UFC that he is without a doubt the #1 contender. And if he can finish the fight against Munhoz in impressive fashion, he’ll prove to the fans that he’s not just an opponent for Barão, but a legitimate threat — and that’s a fighter the fans will pay attention to.

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