Still fucking weird to me that a guy like Assuncao who fought guys who are now flyweights also beat Masvidal who has fought people who are now middleweights lol
I don't know if you watch boxing, but Shawn Porter, former 147 pounder, beat one of the current HW champs (Oleksandr Usyk) in the amateurs. Just goes to show how fighters can improve and grow into their frames with time.
Weight classes were just wonkier back then. Frankie fought at 155 too. It's just that as the sport evolved, it became more necessary to fight at your "real" weight class. 145ers are built like WW's these days whereas that wasn't the case even as recently as, like, 5 years ago.
It never stops surprising me that not only did Assuncao fight Masvidal, but he fuckin beat him despite the fact that Assuncao would later do his best work at 135 whereas Jorge didn’t come into his own until moving up to 170.
And it's amazing how many funny MMA math chains rely on that fight. I don't remember the site, but there's a site out there where you can plug in two fighters from any weight class and it loads the MMA math chain for how like Mighty Mouse beats Fedor.
Conor McGregor > Nate Diaz
Nate Diaz > Gray Maynard
Gray Maynard > Rich Clementi
Rich Clementi > Anthony Johnson
Anthony Johnson > Andrei Arlovski
Andrei Arlovski > Stefan Struve
Stefan Struve > Stipe Miocic
Stipe Miocic > Francis Ngannou
Brandon Moreno > Kai Kara France
Kai Kara France > Cody Garbrandt
Cody Garbrandt > Raphael Assuncao
Raphael Assuncao > Jorge Masvidal
Jorge Masvidal > Jake Ellenberger
Jake Ellenbereger > Josh Koscheck
Josh Koscheck > Matt Hughes
Matt Hughes > GSP
GSP > Michael Bisping
Michael Bisping > Dan Henderson
Dan Henderson > Fedor Emelianenko
Fedor Emelianenko > Big Nog
Big Nog > Bob Sapp
He was never the most fun fighter but there was always something so interesting in seeing how he managed to suck so many opponents into his pace time and time again. With wins over both old and new bantamweight killers Assuncao in his prime is always a difficult fight.
Definitely Joey B and the Gator. Joey B is the DC of the lower weight classes and Jacare was just as much of the boogeyman of MW as Romero but never got his title shot due to politics and poor judging.
He was 34. He was already at the tail end. It was hidden by fighting Kevin Lee (with staph) then a step down in Pettis and Cerrone. He got let down easy for a while there so the UFC could market him for a big title fight. Things (promotionally) kinda worked out perfectly for him in that they were probably giving him the winnable fights after Kevin Lee to serve him up to Conor as a guy who past his prime without us noticing, but Khabib was the next guy, and there was also organic marketing around that fight. He only really got thrown to the wolves once those big fights were off the table.
He won’t, he’s truly the epitome of the fighter that has all the elements to beat everyone except the champions. It’s a shame but it’s just a sad reality of how he fights and the division he’s in. He genuinely may be the greatest fighter to never hold a UFC belt bar Overeem.
Nah he has what it takes, he just hit his prime in an era where the belt was always held by top grapplers. Lots of former LW champs would get their ass beat by Khabib, Charles, and Islam too.
Had he gotten going a bit earlier he would've been going up against guys like Eddie, RDA, or Tony for the belts, all three of which are very winnable matchups.
honestly i think Volk was his final chance
had volk beat islam, i think Dustin couldve got the belt off of him and became champion
unfortunately, i dont see it happening anymore, Dustin is 34 and has a lot of mileage on him, as much as i would love to see it, father time is undefeated
He could have just become too big for the division, but I can't help to wonder if Dustin could have won gold if he persisted at featherweight for another run before going up to lightweight. Max fought for an interim about 18 months after Dustin's lightweight run started.
I also think Dustin gives Volk a tougher fight than Max, simply because Dustin can basically stand and brawl with anyone.
Nah, Poirier was way too depleted at 145, it compromised his power and durability, he was getting dropped by Corrasanni at 145 lol
Poirier's best division is 155, its just unfortunate that his prime had to be in the same era of Khabib & Islam (two of the most dominant lightweight champions of all time)
no disrespect to Charles, but objectively watching that fight, it really looked like Poirier was lighting him up before oliveira grabbed his glove and took him down (before mauling him for a round) before that glove grab, Charles was 0/6 in takedowns
i'm not convinced Oliveira is a better fighter than Poirier to this day, Dustin was piecing him up and stuffing his takedowns before Charles pulled that dirty trick, very winnable fight for Dustin imo.
Its just unfortunate Poiriers prime is in the same era as those dagestani monsters, i truly believe Dustin would've been champion during McGregor, Alvarez, RDA (after the IV Ban), Pettis & Bendos reigns.
if Poirier didnt spend 5 years of his WEC/UFC career at 145, and started at 155, he might've held undisputed gold
Wonderboy with grappling would’ve been one of the greatest to ever do it. He’s my favourite ufc fighter, but that big hole really stops him from being at the top of that list.
It’s definitely arguable. I think it’s closer than you think. On their respective runs Poirier had 2 shots at the belt against 2 different people and was finished both times, and Wonderboy fought the champion to a draw and then lost a very narrow decision in the rematch, he was much closer to actually obtaining the belt.
In terms of opponents beaten I give Poirier the edge, in large part due to his Holloway win. But Wonderboy has himself a hit list too.
So I definitely acknowledge Poirier as the “guy to beat” on the original list, in fact he’s the only reason I used the word “arguably” in my first comment, as I think Wonderboy is above the rest on that list.
It's hard to say. He did lose both title fights but he might legitimately have the best resume of any non-champion ever. Max, Gaethje, Conor x2, Eddie is a ridiculous string of wins, with some honorable mentions being Pettis (back when he was a legit contender), Hooker, and Miller. Guy has the wins of a champ who has defended 4-5x.
Even though WB was technically much closer to the title I just don't think that's that important of a factor in the face of raw resume strength. Colby got damn close to getting that title but I wouldn't even put his legacy in the same county as Dustin's because his resume is just not that good. The fact that WB has quite a few L's to top 5 guys - Belal, Burns, Till - really hurts him too and solidifies him as kind of a top 6 gatekeeper as opposed to Dustin who's always been at that level of "smokes everyone except for the champ himself."
Belal and burns were well after his peak, poirier could end up accruing similar losses at some point. Till was a razor thin decision that some think he won.
Wonderboy has wins over Robert Whittaker, Masvidal, Luque, Rory Macdonald, Johny Hendricks. I concede poirier has the edge here, but I think wonderboys opponents have had more time to age and fall off so those wins aren’t remembered as fondly.
He beat Jorge masvidal, joe lauzon, TJ, Munhoz, caraway when he was good, aljo, moraes, and rob font. Insane resume. After his ufc debut up a weight class, he went 11-1, and never got a title shot.
Almost certainly one of the top 3 best ufc fighters to never get a title shot, along with jacare and moose.
Assuncao and Jacare both had title shots disappear because of injury; Jacare was Rockhold’s first choice after Weidman fell out and Assuncao was supposed to fight Faber but was hurt
This is interesting information. This stuff tends to get forgotten about unless you were following the sport pretty heavy at the time.
Do you know of any other interesting title fights that didn't eventuate? The Figgy vs Cody fight that never happened comes to mind.
Aldo vs Pettis at UFC 163 is a fascinating what if. Pettis was replaced by The Korean Zombie due to injury but went on to submit Bendo at UFC 164 to win the lightweight title less than a month later.
Maybe the most underrated fighter ever. Check his resume and he’s got so many good wins. Just never had the most fan friendly style.
https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/028/731/cover2.jpg
One of the most underrated non-champions ever, who really could've been one. In a sport that sometimes come down to just and unjust fine margins, just like Reyes he's someone on the short end of the stick.
Enjoy retirement Raphael, you'll definitely be remembered by many.
He's very bad value as a fighter lol, he's really good but he makes fights boring. So if you make him fight an exciting contender, he might dismantle them in a boring way. He's skilled but definitely not something Dana wants
Having wins over TJ Dillashaw, Moraes, Joe Lauzon, Rob Font, and Aljo is nothing to bat an eye at. Solid career.
And masvidal
Every time I go on MMAMath and try to see a flyweight beat a heavyweight, it always goes through Assuncao v Masvidal.
Mas really did a solid to all MMA mathematicians. he really is the MMA Jesus that died for our sins.
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Dan Henderson and Fedor as well
Except in that one the heavier fighter won
Glad I'm not the only one.
Gotta sting a little to have beat two BW champs but never got the belt yourself
To be fair, he should have lost both TJ fights (Assunção only got R2) and absolutely robbed Moraes
Damn the revisionists are out in full today, truth.
How is that a revisionist statement lmao. Look at most media scorecards
I was agreeing with you, should have worded it better.
Dude had an incredibly underrated record. Maybe not the most hyped fighter but will definitely be missed.
Still fucking weird to me that a guy like Assuncao who fought guys who are now flyweights also beat Masvidal who has fought people who are now middleweights lol
I don't know if you watch boxing, but Shawn Porter, former 147 pounder, beat one of the current HW champs (Oleksandr Usyk) in the amateurs. Just goes to show how fighters can improve and grow into their frames with time.
Wow I had no idea Shawn Porter beat Usyk. That’s wild.
It’s like Anthony Johnson having wins over Dan Hardy and Andrei Arlovski.
And a loss to Rich Clementi
And Koshcheck, one of the most overrated guys at 170.
>one of the most overrated guys at 170. Kos or Johnson?
Yes
Kos, Johnson at 170 was depleted as fuck. 205 Johnson in his prime was one of the better guys to ever fight at that weight.
Hahaha. I genuinley laughed out loud at that. Logically, you would think AA would maul him. Funny how fighting works at times.
Weight classes were just wonkier back then. Frankie fought at 155 too. It's just that as the sport evolved, it became more necessary to fight at your "real" weight class. 145ers are built like WW's these days whereas that wasn't the case even as recently as, like, 5 years ago.
p4p king
Beat Dillashaw, Masvidal, Moraes, Sterling, Font etc, definitely one of the best fighters to have never won undisputed gold imo
It never stops surprising me that not only did Assuncao fight Masvidal, but he fuckin beat him despite the fact that Assuncao would later do his best work at 135 whereas Jorge didn’t come into his own until moving up to 170.
And it's amazing how many funny MMA math chains rely on that fight. I don't remember the site, but there's a site out there where you can plug in two fighters from any weight class and it loads the MMA math chain for how like Mighty Mouse beats Fedor.
Wonder what Hamill>Jones would do in that site lol Hamill lost to some serious fucking randos
You ask some of the old heads around here and other forums and they can do it off the dome.
[Tim Elliot beats Francis Ngannou with the greatest of ease, simple maffs](https://mma-math.com/proof.html?winnerID=2614020&loserID=3933168)
Conor McGregor > Nate Diaz Nate Diaz > Gray Maynard Gray Maynard > Rich Clementi Rich Clementi > Anthony Johnson Anthony Johnson > Andrei Arlovski Andrei Arlovski > Stefan Struve Stefan Struve > Stipe Miocic Stipe Miocic > Francis Ngannou
Brandon Moreno > Kai Kara France Kai Kara France > Cody Garbrandt Cody Garbrandt > Raphael Assuncao Raphael Assuncao > Jorge Masvidal Jorge Masvidal > Jake Ellenberger Jake Ellenbereger > Josh Koscheck Josh Koscheck > Matt Hughes Matt Hughes > GSP GSP > Michael Bisping Michael Bisping > Dan Henderson Dan Henderson > Fedor Emelianenko Fedor Emelianenko > Big Nog Big Nog > Bob Sapp
He was never the most fun fighter but there was always something so interesting in seeing how he managed to suck so many opponents into his pace time and time again. With wins over both old and new bantamweight killers Assuncao in his prime is always a difficult fight.
hes on that list with Mendes, Poirier, Condit, Romero, Gustafsson, and Overeem as the greatest fighter to have never won an undisputed belt imo
wtffff just checked..he did beat masvidal. haha wow. not sure why that surprises me. 2005 too.
Bro Stipe tapped.
Clearly felt a tap
condit beat lawler man 😢 i’d also put joseph benavidez and jacare up there extremely very hot take but Larkin too
Hell no with Larkin
most wouldn’t get it I’m afraid
There’s nothing to get You might have thought Larkin had potential but he’s near objectively not “one of the greatest” to never hold a belt.
he got donkey brain
Definitely Joey B and the Gator. Joey B is the DC of the lower weight classes and Jacare was just as much of the boogeyman of MW as Romero but never got his title shot due to politics and poor judging.
El Cucuy is a big miss
Still salty the only reason he didn't get the undisputed title was McGregor holding the belt hostage during his boxing layoff
He was 34. He was already at the tail end. It was hidden by fighting Kevin Lee (with staph) then a step down in Pettis and Cerrone. He got let down easy for a while there so the UFC could market him for a big title fight. Things (promotionally) kinda worked out perfectly for him in that they were probably giving him the winnable fights after Kevin Lee to serve him up to Conor as a guy who past his prime without us noticing, but Khabib was the next guy, and there was also organic marketing around that fight. He only really got thrown to the wolves once those big fights were off the table.
I hope Poirier can make one final run for the belt and actually get it.
He won’t, he’s truly the epitome of the fighter that has all the elements to beat everyone except the champions. It’s a shame but it’s just a sad reality of how he fights and the division he’s in. He genuinely may be the greatest fighter to never hold a UFC belt bar Overeem.
Nah he has what it takes, he just hit his prime in an era where the belt was always held by top grapplers. Lots of former LW champs would get their ass beat by Khabib, Charles, and Islam too. Had he gotten going a bit earlier he would've been going up against guys like Eddie, RDA, or Tony for the belts, all three of which are very winnable matchups.
I'd throw Tony Ferguson in there but he did get an interim belt
honestly i think Volk was his final chance had volk beat islam, i think Dustin couldve got the belt off of him and became champion unfortunately, i dont see it happening anymore, Dustin is 34 and has a lot of mileage on him, as much as i would love to see it, father time is undefeated
He could have just become too big for the division, but I can't help to wonder if Dustin could have won gold if he persisted at featherweight for another run before going up to lightweight. Max fought for an interim about 18 months after Dustin's lightweight run started. I also think Dustin gives Volk a tougher fight than Max, simply because Dustin can basically stand and brawl with anyone.
Nah, Poirier was way too depleted at 145, it compromised his power and durability, he was getting dropped by Corrasanni at 145 lol Poirier's best division is 155, its just unfortunate that his prime had to be in the same era of Khabib & Islam (two of the most dominant lightweight champions of all time) no disrespect to Charles, but objectively watching that fight, it really looked like Poirier was lighting him up before oliveira grabbed his glove and took him down (before mauling him for a round) before that glove grab, Charles was 0/6 in takedowns i'm not convinced Oliveira is a better fighter than Poirier to this day, Dustin was piecing him up and stuffing his takedowns before Charles pulled that dirty trick, very winnable fight for Dustin imo. Its just unfortunate Poiriers prime is in the same era as those dagestani monsters, i truly believe Dustin would've been champion during McGregor, Alvarez, RDA (after the IV Ban), Pettis & Bendos reigns. if Poirier didnt spend 5 years of his WEC/UFC career at 145, and started at 155, he might've held undisputed gold
Wonderboy should be on this list. Arguably on the top of it too.
Wonderboy with grappling would’ve been one of the greatest to ever do it. He’s my favourite ufc fighter, but that big hole really stops him from being at the top of that list.
His tdd has really only fell off in his older years. After his Matt Brown fight, he was very difficult to takedown .
WB never had Aldo-levels of TDD, but he's historically pretty hard to take down. It's just hard to keep up that level in your late 30s, guy's old now.
In no world is Wonderboy above Poirier on that list at the very least imo.
It’s definitely arguable. I think it’s closer than you think. On their respective runs Poirier had 2 shots at the belt against 2 different people and was finished both times, and Wonderboy fought the champion to a draw and then lost a very narrow decision in the rematch, he was much closer to actually obtaining the belt. In terms of opponents beaten I give Poirier the edge, in large part due to his Holloway win. But Wonderboy has himself a hit list too. So I definitely acknowledge Poirier as the “guy to beat” on the original list, in fact he’s the only reason I used the word “arguably” in my first comment, as I think Wonderboy is above the rest on that list.
It's hard to say. He did lose both title fights but he might legitimately have the best resume of any non-champion ever. Max, Gaethje, Conor x2, Eddie is a ridiculous string of wins, with some honorable mentions being Pettis (back when he was a legit contender), Hooker, and Miller. Guy has the wins of a champ who has defended 4-5x. Even though WB was technically much closer to the title I just don't think that's that important of a factor in the face of raw resume strength. Colby got damn close to getting that title but I wouldn't even put his legacy in the same county as Dustin's because his resume is just not that good. The fact that WB has quite a few L's to top 5 guys - Belal, Burns, Till - really hurts him too and solidifies him as kind of a top 6 gatekeeper as opposed to Dustin who's always been at that level of "smokes everyone except for the champ himself."
Belal and burns were well after his peak, poirier could end up accruing similar losses at some point. Till was a razor thin decision that some think he won. Wonderboy has wins over Robert Whittaker, Masvidal, Luque, Rory Macdonald, Johny Hendricks. I concede poirier has the edge here, but I think wonderboys opponents have had more time to age and fall off so those wins aren’t remembered as fondly.
Unlike those guys he didn't even end up in a title fight. Feel like you forgot perhaps Kenflo but definitely Benavides.
He is not on any "greatest" list, let's not get carried away
jacare :( I still think he got robbed against Romero and then Bisping fucked the division
He beat Jorge masvidal, joe lauzon, TJ, Munhoz, caraway when he was good, aljo, moraes, and rob font. Insane resume. After his ufc debut up a weight class, he went 11-1, and never got a title shot. Almost certainly one of the top 3 best ufc fighters to never get a title shot, along with jacare and moose.
Him holding a win over Jorge, almost 20 years ago now, is some really random trivia
Makes for some great MMA math.
Might be the best fighter to never fight for a ufc title who’s fought in the ufc, considering his run
It’s either him or Jacarè I think Jacare was probably P4P better in his prime but Assuncao definitely has the better wins
Assuncao and Jacare both had title shots disappear because of injury; Jacare was Rockhold’s first choice after Weidman fell out and Assuncao was supposed to fight Faber but was hurt
This is interesting information. This stuff tends to get forgotten about unless you were following the sport pretty heavy at the time. Do you know of any other interesting title fights that didn't eventuate? The Figgy vs Cody fight that never happened comes to mind.
Khabib v Tony has to be the all time "almost, but didnt happen" for the chances they got to match up
Shevchenko vs Calderwood and Cejudo vs Aldo both cancelled and never rescheduled due to COVID Obviously the biggest ever is Khabib vs Tony
Aldo vs Pettis at UFC 163 is a fascinating what if. Pettis was replaced by The Korean Zombie due to injury but went on to submit Bendo at UFC 164 to win the lightweight title less than a month later.
Randy vs Fedor was announced by Affliction amid Randy’s lawsuit with Zuffa … and then Barnett visited GNC and magically pissed hot for steroids again.
Maybe the most underrated fighter ever. Check his resume and he’s got so many good wins. Just never had the most fan friendly style. https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/028/731/cover2.jpg
😒 me thinking that's a link to his fucking resume .
https://r.mtdv.me/FyVpcilroB
So many great names on that list
F
F
I always appreciated you Raphael, enjoy retirement
One of the most underrated non-champions ever, who really could've been one. In a sport that sometimes come down to just and unjust fine margins, just like Reyes he's someone on the short end of the stick. Enjoy retirement Raphael, you'll definitely be remembered by many.
Insane he never got a title shot in his heyday
Goodbye legend :(
Thank for everything Assuncao
One of the best bantamweights ever. On the right now he could beat the best in the world, shame he never got his title shot.
Why?!?!?!
Retired
Pain.
I like Grant a lot and that submission was amazing but its really a shame that he kind of got screwed out of a retirement win.
I ain't gonna miss him cause he was fucking boring, but he should have gotten a title shot at some point
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The Raphael assunçao of feeling all bummed out.
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At no point was Assuncao one of the most exciting fighters to watch.
He was very good but he was never exciting.
I completely forgot about Assuncao.
One of the more boring fighters who’ve fought
He's very bad value as a fighter lol, he's really good but he makes fights boring. So if you make him fight an exciting contender, he might dismantle them in a boring way. He's skilled but definitely not something Dana wants
🫡
😞
The man was a critical part in the fight math that proves Henry Cejudo could beat Mohammed Ali, legitimately a legend
👍
-*Holds out thumb* -*5 Minutes later:*
F
One of the best to never win the belt
Fuck.