In the main event of UFC Brooklyn, Henry Cejudo successfully defended his flyweight championship against T.J. Dillashaw with a TKO victory in the first round. Had Dillashaw defeated Henry Cejudo, it would have seemed that the winner of tonight’s UFC Fortaleza main event between Raphael Assuncao and Marlon Moraes would have an undisputed path to a title shot, especially after being granted this assurance from UFC President Dana White.
All this would change with Cejudo’s victory over Dillashaw, with White now claiming that he would love to see Cejudo/Dillashaw 2 next for the bantamweight title. Headed into this main event against Marlon Moraes tonight in Fortaleza, Raphael Assuncao remains unphased in his belief that the only rematch that will happen after tonight will be Dillashaw/Assuncado 2.
“A win gets me a title shot,” Assuncao told BJPenn.com. “I’m very confident. I bring the experience and confidence, and my opponent is going to bring a lot of confidence as well,” Assuncao continued. “I feel good though, man. Just everything is falling into place so I feel good about it. Just watching my weight, so I’m ready to go on February 2.”
Ironically, the reason Raphael Assuncao took the fight with Moraes in the first place was the prevent being jumped in the bantamweight queue:
“It is just a fight that the UFC wanted to make happen,” Assuncao said of the UFC Fortaleza main event. “We tried so hard to get the title shot. Really, the guys could win a fight and jump ahead of me. So we decided to take a fight, instead of sitting around and waiting.”
As it turns out, even with a second victory over Moraes tonight, Assuncao may still end up waiting anxiously to learn if it will be he who will receive the next title shot at T.J. Dillashaw or flyweight champion Henry Cejudo.
Who do you believe should face T.J. Dillashaw for the bantamweight title: Henry Cejudo or the winner of Assuncao/Moraes?
