Cleuder Ferreira Assunção Júnior (born 24 June 1981), known as simply Júnior Assunção, is a Brazilian

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who formerly competed in the

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

division. A professional competitor since 2004, he has competed for the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

, the

Xtreme Fighting Championships Xtreme Fighting Championships (XFC) is a premier international mixed martial arts (MMA) organization based in Spring Lake, Michigan, with offices throughout the United States and South America. The XFC showcases both male and female fighters, ad ...

, and

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock Jr. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstre ...

Biography

Originally from Northeastern Brazil, Junior grew up in Miami, and now resides in Atlanta. He is also the older brother of

Raphael Assunção Raphael Assunção (born 19 July 1982) is a Brazilian former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Born in Recife in Northeast Brazil, Assunção move ...

and Freddy Assunção who also fight as mixed martial artists.

Mixed martial arts career

Junior Assuncāo has earned black belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Capoeira. His professional MMA career has led to extensive training in these disciplines as well as in Boxing, Judo, Muay Thai, and Wrestling. He has trained out of Black House (Casa Preta) gym in Brazil with the likes of MMA powerhouses

Anderson Silva Anderson da Silva (; born 14 April 1975) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and professional boxer. He is a former UFC Middleweight Champion and holds the record for the longest title reign in UFC history at 2,457 days. This started in 2006 ...

and

Lyoto Machida is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, as well as a UFC Middleweight Championship title challenger. He mos ...

. Junior's martial arts foundation is in

Capoeira Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art and game that includes elements of dance, acrobatics, capoeira music, music, and spirituality. It likely originated from enslaved Mbundu people, of the Kingdom of Ndongo, in present-day Angola. The ...

, a Brazilian fight system characterized by acrobatic sweeps, kicks, and head butts that rely heavily on core strength. Having trained under Mestre Delei for 12 years, Junior credits his success in the combat sports to this discipline. As an instructor, Junior incorporates many techniques from Capoeira, such as agility, balance, and practical strength.

Amateur career

Assunção holds an undefeated 2–0 record as an amateur, and made his debut on 17 May 2003, facing Scotty Johnson at ISCF: May Madness in Midtown. He won the fight via second round armbar. In his next amateur fight, Assunção faced Brendan Dumont at Submission Fighting Open 10 on 6 February 2004. He won the fight via guillotine choke, and would officially turn pro in April 2004.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

With a 4–1 record, Assunção signed with the

in late 2006. Assunção faced rising star

Kurt Pellegrino Kurt Joseph Pellegrino (born May 7, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He competed in the lightweight division for Bellator Fighting Championships and Ultimate Fighting Championship. He’s a former WEC champion. Early life Pell ...

UFC 64 ''UFC 64: Unstoppable'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday, October 14, 2006. The event took place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada and was broadcast live on pa ...

on 14 October 2006. He lost the fight via rear-naked choke. In his next fight in the promotion, Assunção faced David Lee at

UFC 70 ''UFC 70: Nations Collide'' was the second UFC event held in the United Kingdom, and the first in Manchester on Saturday, April 21, 2007. ''UFC 70'' was also only the seventh UFC event held outside the United States, and the first since '' UFC ...

on 21 April 2007. He won the fight via rear-naked choke. Assunção then faced

Nate Diaz Nathan Donald Diaz (born April 16, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist and professional boxer who is currently a free agent. Diaz is most known for his time spent fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he fought for ov ...

at UFC Fight Night 11 on 19 September 2007. He lost the fight via guillotine choke, and was subsequently released from the promotion

Xtreme Fighting Championships

After posting a 4–1 on the regional circuit, Assunção signed with

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

based promotion

. He faced John Mahlow for the XFC Lightweight Championship at XFC 10: Night of Champions on 19 March 2010. He won the fight via guillotine choke, and vacated the championship to drop down in weight class and re-sign with the

Return to UFC

In 2011, Assunção re-signed with the

. He faced promotional newcomer Eddie Yagin in a featherweight bout on 24 September 2011 at

UFC 135 ''UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 24, 2011, at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. Background The Ultimate Fighting Championship had its first ever event in De ...

. Assunção went on to win the fight by unanimous decision. Assunção faced

Ross Pearson Ross Pearson (born 26 September 1984) is a retired English mixed martial artist and professional boxer. A 26-fight veteran of the UFC, he was a three-time "Fight of the Night" winner and was the lightweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 9. B ...

on 30 December 2011 at

UFC 141 ''UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Friday December 30, 2011, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The UFC returned to a 10 p.m. ET st ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Post-UFC career

Following his second release from

, Assunção faced Guilherme Faria for the PFC Featherweight Championship at PFC 2 on 13 September 2013. He won the fight via kimura. Assunção faced Alejandro Rodriguez at XFC International 5 on 7 June 2014. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** XFC Lightweight Championship (One time) *Premium Fight Championship **PFC Featherweight Championship (One time, current)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 16–7 , Arman Tsarukyan , Decision (unanimous) , MFP 220: Mayor's Cup 2018 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( ) is the largest city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China–Russia border, at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri Rivers, about north of Vladivostok. As of the 2021 Russian c ...

, Russia ,

bout. , - , Loss , align=center, 16–6 , Adam Townsend , TKO (knee injury) , Art of War 18 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:49 ,

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, China ,

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

debut. , - , Win , align=center, 16–5 , Mauricio dos Santos Jr. , TKO (head kick) , XFC International 13 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:51 , São Paulo, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 15–5 , Alejandro Solano Rodriguez , Decision (unanimous) , XFC International 5 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Osasco Osasco () is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil, located in the Greater São Paulo area and ranking fifth in population among São Paulo municipalities. According to the IBGE 2015, Osasco currently has the ninth highest gross do ...

, São Paulo, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 14–5 , Guilherme Faria de Souza , Submission (kimura) , Premium FC 2 , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 2:05 ,

Campinas Campinas (, ''Plains'' or ''Meadows'') is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in São Paulo (state), São Paulo State, part of the country's Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region. According to the 2020 estimate, the city's popul ...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4 , Wesley Murch , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Recife FC 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 , Mark Miller , KO (punch) , Recife FC 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:03 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 10–4 , John Mahlow , Submission (guillotine choke) , XFC 10: Night of Champions , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:02 ,

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–4 , Peter Grimes , Decision (split) , ShineFights 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–4 , Kamrin Naville , Decision (unanimous) , KOTC: Invincible , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–4 , Kalvin Hackney , Decision (unanimous) , Wild Bill's Fight Night 17 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–4 , Torrance Taylor , Decision (unanimous) , American Fight League: Bulletproof , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–3 , Steve Sharp , Submission (guillotine choke) , American Fight League: Erupption , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:26 ,

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–3 ,

, Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC Fight Night 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:10 ,

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Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–2 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC 64: Unstoppable , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:04 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Scott Hope , TKO (punches) , International Sport Combat Federation: Knuckle Up 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:43 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 ,

Dustin Hazelett Dustin Tyler Hazelett (born April 29, 1986) is a retired American mixed martial artist who had fought as a Welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Hazelett was born in Louisa, Kentucky, USA. Hazelett began training in mar ...

, TKO (punches) , Full Throttle 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:27 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Danny Payne , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Full Throttle 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:50 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–1 , Will Bradford , Submission (guillotine choke) , International Sport Combat Federation: Compound Fracture 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:55 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 , Andrew Chappelle , Decision (unanimous) , International Sport Combat Federation: Fight Party , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

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Amateur mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Brendan Dumont , Submission (guillotine choke) , International Sport Combat Federation: Submission Fighting Open 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Situated near the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is southeast of Atlanta and near the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Scotty Johnson , Submission (armbar) , International Sport Combat Federation: May Madness , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,