UFC 226 Results: New England’s Rob Font Overwhelmed By Raphael Assuncao

LAS VEGAS — Rob Font had an opportunity to make a dent in the UFC’s bantamweight division and position himself for a potential title shot in the near future, but the Boston native will have to go back to the drawing board.

Font was overwhelmed in three rounds against No. 3-ranked Raphael Assuncao at UFC 226 on Saturday, losing the fight via unanimous decision (30-27).

Assuncao dominated the fight from start to finish, catching Font with a punch that stung him in the first round. In the second frame, it was more of the same as Assuncao landed a takedown and then used his sharp boxing skills to control the fight.

The fight official briefly paused the bout in the third round after a strike by Assuncao shook up Font. He was allowed to continue the fight, but couldn’t manage to turn around the momentum.

This marks Font’s first loss on U.S. soil in the UFC and his second defeat in his last three fights. He defeated Thomas Almeida at UFC 220 in Boston via knockout, earning a fight against a top-five opponent in Assuncao.

This is Assuncao’s 11th win in 12 fights, with his only loss coming against current bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw. Whether his performance against Font parlays into a title shot remains to be seen, but Assuncao called out UFC president Dana White in his post-fight interview asking for a title shot soon.

Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt will battle for the bantamweight belt next month at UFC 227 in Los Angeles.