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Raphael Assuncao, on another streak, only interested in a title fight after UFC 226

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LAS VEGAS – Raphael Assuncao is veteran enough to admit he wasn’t that highly motivated in his UFC 226 training camp.

Assuncao told MMAjunkie it was hard to keep focused, in part because his bout against Rob Font really amounted to just a stay-busy fight – at least compared to what Assuncao wants, and what he thinks he’s earned, which is a bantamweight title shot.

Assuncao (27-5 MMA, 11-2 UFC) took a unanimous decision from Rob Font (15-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) on the UFC 226 preliminary card Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass. Assuncao swept the judges’ scorecards with a trio of 30-27 tallies.

Assuncao is No. 4 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA bantamweight rankings. Only champion T.J. Dillashaw and former champs Cody Garbrandt and Dominick Cruz are ahead of him. Font currently is an honorable mention selection.

Still, the Brazilian hopes winning his fourth straight fight will be enough to put him in line to fight the Dillashaw-Garbrandt winner after they fight at UFC 227.

“Hopefully, it will catapult me to a title shot – which is what I want,” Assuncao said after the fight. “And I think even though it was a decision, I was able to once again showcase what I can do and change my strategy on the fly and implement what I wanted to implement in the fight.

“I think I have a lot to add with this fight to my overall game even more. Hopefully it will help me and when the chance presents itself for a title shot, I’ll be even more experienced. I may not get all the knockouts. I may not kick everybody (to a KO) in 30 seconds, but the experience is there and nobody can take that away from me.”

Prior to Assuncao’s current four-fight winning streak against Font, Matthew Lopez, Marlon Moraes and Aljamain Sterling, he dropped a decision to Dillashaw at UFC 200 two years ago.

That loss was his first in more than five years and snapped a seven-fight skid. It also meant a likely title shot passed him by. But he has 11 wins in his past 12 fights, is quick to point out he’s never missed weight and never pulled out of a fight, and just wants his due and proper.

“I’m frustrated,” he said. “Dana White’s my boss. He’s the one who signs my check. Sean Shelby is my boss – the matchmaker. At the end of the day, whatever their decision is, it is what it is. But I don’t have any interest right now of who I’m going to fight (other than a title fight).”

To hear more from Assuncao, check out the video above.

For complete coverage of UFC 226, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.

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