Raphael Assuncao snaps four-fight losing skid: UFC Vegas 62
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to us tonight, October 15, 2022, just one week out from UFC 280, for UFC Vegas 62, going down live from the UFC Apex in Enterprise, Nevada.
Headlining the event is a women’s flyweight contest between no. 5 ranked Alexa Grasso (14-3) and no. 6 ranked Viviane Araujo (11-3).
Our co-main of the evening came in the bantamweight division, as Cub Swanson (28-12) made the move down to 135 lbs for the first time to take on surging prospect Jonathan Martinez (16-4).
Our feature fight of the night also came in the bantamweight division, this one between longtime staple Raphael Assuncao (27-9) and promotional rookie Victor Henry (22-5).
Assuncao had lost his last four-straight coming into tonight’s bout, following an 11-1 run to begin his bantamweight tenure. Henry on the other hand is coming off a unanimous decision win over Raoni Barcelos in his UFC debut.
Click here for UFC Vegas 62 results
Continue reading to see how this bantamweight feature fight went down:
Official Result: Raphael Assuncao def. Victor Henry via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Henry controls the center of the octagon throughout the first round, though the constant stance-switching of Assuncao is making for a difficult target. The first round was relatively close, perhaps a slight edge going to Assuncao.
Henry goes for a spinning wheel kick and ends up on his back about one minute into round two, and Assuncao happily takes the easy takedown. He isn’t able to remain on top for long, but it was certainly a big moment for him.
Assuncao then catches a kick once they’re back on the feet and lands four consecutive hard right hands to the face of Henry. This backs Henry up to the fence, where Assuncao shoots on, and secures a double leg takedown.
FOUR STRAIGHT HEADSHOTS 👊 #UFCVEGAS62 pic.twitter.com/TpbkbzN0df
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 15, 2022
The Brazilian veteran remains on top until the final 15 seconds of the second round. Henry is very aggressive off his back with submission attempts, but he’s unable to submit the longtime BJJ black belt.
Assuncao really begins to find his range in the third and final round, as he lands a lot of hard punches, many of them in combinations. He then secures a single leg takedown, though Henry is back to his feet quickly.
Henry just doesn’t seem to find his timing throughout this fight; he’s able to land some nice shots here and there, but none are too significant and he’s getting out-classed.
This was a very impressive performance by Assuncao.
After a four-fight losing streak, to look like this against someone that just defeated 17-3 Raoni Barcelos, he looked great. It appears Raphael Assuncao does have some time left on the clock at 40 years old.
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