UFC 250 Preview, Pick, Prediction: Who Moves Up, Cody Garbrandt Or Raphael Assuncao?

A women’s featherweight title fight between champion Amanda Nunes and challenger Felicia Spencer sits atop Saturday’s UFC 250 pay-per-view card from UFC Apex. Before that scrap takes place, a former bantamweight champ and a longtime 135-pound title hopeful meet in the co-main event.

The co-headliner finds ex-UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt against Raphael Assuncao. Garbrandt, who is the No. 9 ranked fighter in the official UFC bantamweight rankings, is has lost his past three fights. Assuncao, who is ranked at No. 5, has dropped his two most recent contests. Garbrandt was knocked out in each of his three consecutive defeats. He hasn’t had his hand raised in victory since he took the 135-pound title from Dominick Cruz in 2016. Assuncao lost both of his 2019 outings. He has not posted a victory since 2018.

Garbrandt began 2016 as an unranked bantamweight with an 7-0 record. He finished that year as the 11-0 135-pound UFC champion. Garbrandt’s first three bouts of 2016 all ended with him scoring first round knockouts. On December 30 he defeated Dominick Cruz by unanimous decision to capture the bantamweight crown.

Things went south for Garbrandt after that. He was knocked out in his next three fights when he threw caution to the wind and willingly stood toe-to-toe with his opponents and engaged in slugfests. Garbrandt’s chin failed in those scraps. Heading into Saturday’s UFC 250, Garbrandt says he has fixed that shortcoming.

Assuncao has been competing as a UFC bantamweight since 2011. He began his 135-pound career on a 7-0 run before dropping a decision to T.J. Dillashaw. He followed that with a four-fight winning streak before he went 0-2 during 2019.

The one thing that has kept Assuncao from getting a title fight is his propensity to win fights by decision and fight defensively, a style the UFC does not seem to reward too often.

This matchup should play to the strengths of both fighters. For Garbrandt, the defensive style of Assuncao should allow him to use his aggressive boxing without too much worry that he will get in a slugfest. For Assuncao, Garbrandt’s willingness to move forward should allow him to unload effective counters.

This fight could come down to the perception of the judges. If Assuncao and Garbrandt go the distance, Garbrandt could be rewarded with a decision on his pressure and forward motion.

Pick: Garbrandt

UFC 250 takes place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view. ESPN and ESPN+ carry the prelims and ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass broadcast the early prelims.