Raphael Assuncao Seeks Dominick Cruz After UFC on FOX 23 Win

Raphael Assuncao spoke following his win over Aljamain Sterling at UFC on FOX 23. Some highlights are below:

On his performance: “I was confident about (the) first and second rounds. And (the) third round was a little bit – I can say I wish I had a little more steam and bit down on my mouthpiece and put my combos together. Yeah, I was kind of limited, unfortunately. That’s the truth. I was kind of receptive on the – I wanted to take him down at a point. I was like, ‘OK, maybe it’s not quite there.’ So I just wanted to maintain the striking game, especially after I stuffed four or five of his shots. So I kind of played that game a little bit. I’m very critical of my performances, just because for me to get back to contention, I’ve got to put those performances together. But, you know, I feel that me having to build up on will help me, will keep me humble, and will keep me progressing, getting better.”

On his loss to TJ DIllashaw at UFC 200: “I think I have been losing momentum for a while now as far as putting the fights together, putting the rounds together. My last fight, at UFC 200, I don’t even remember that fight. It’s like, ‘OK, what did I do at UFC 200 I can improve upon?’ And that fight was like, I don’t even remember. It’s been so long, that here it kind of changed up. My daughter was born. Everything changed so dramatically that I don’t even remember that fight. And on top of that, the guy that I fought, T.J. Dillashaw, I think he was coming off 20 rounds altogether. And here I am, after a two-year layoff fighting the guy. Anyway, I’m just ready to get back to the top.”

On his next fight: “I think Dominick Cruz makes sense right now. See how that plays out. I’m the No. 4 guy (in the UFC rankings) – considering, no disrespect to any of the rankings out there, any of the fighters, but I consider myself the No. 3, still. … So, whatever makes sense, right?”