Junior Assuncao

So I sent Junior Assuncao a Myspace message asking for an interview, left my phone number, and asked him to give me a call. The next day, I answer the phone and I hear a slow, deep, foreign voice that practically sings my name, “Jimmmmmm, It’s Junior. How are you, man? I got your message…”

We decide to meet over lunch the next day at noon. True to a relaxed, Brazilian tempo he shows up a fashionable 7 minutes after noon. He walks right up to me, shakes my hand like we know each other, introduces himself and instantly makes me feel like we’ve been best friends for twenty years and need to catch up on old times.

I’ve got to tell you, this guy makes everybody feel special and you immediately get an infallible feeling that you’ve just encountered somebody very special. His smile and Brazilian encantimento seems even to charm our server out of noticing both cauliflower ears. Those ears remind you that he’s been in a scrap or two, but his demeanor says anything but. He’s a relaxed, cool guy. Light complexion for a Brazilian, about 5’9,” wearing a soccer jersey and shorts. He orders the Chicken Taco, I’m down with the grilled Grouper and Asian Slaw.

As I begin to scoop tartar sauce onto my fish, he leans over his food, hands clasped, eyes closed, and quietly gives thanks to God. This is a devoutly religious man and I realize in an instant how humble he is. There is no ego and no arrogance here.

We sat for nearly two hours chatting. For the most part, he was an open book and just let loose telling me about his life, his hobbies, and his passions. It was two hours that I will remember for a long time because of the character of the man I became acquainted with. This is a guy, I’m sure, that the entire MMA community will become acquainted with. In fact, by the time this article is published, most you reading will have already seen his fight with UFC’s season 5 TUF winner Nate Diaz.

Some of our discussion went like this:

Tell me about your family life, Wife, Kids, etc.

Well they are in Brazil. I moved them there when I got my first UFC contract so that I could concentrate on training. My boy, he is 8 now.

Is he learning to roll? Nah, man. I asked him if he wants to, but he said that he wants to play soccer. You know, down there soccer is everything..

Anyway, I really miss them and now I want them back up here. I think after the next fight I’m going to move them back.

I just bought a little land in Brazil. I haven’t even seen it yet. Only pictures. My father handled the transaction for me. I trust his judgment with things like that. It will be cool to go down there and finally see it myself.

Junior, tell me a little bit about where you’re from and how you grew up. What got you into MMA?

Well, I was born in the North of Brazil in a little city that is really slow paced. Then, when I was 11 my family moved to Miami. There I started taking Capoiera and the guy let us train for free. Since my mom was off working when we got of from school, that’s where we would go.

Being a 90s kid in Miami we did what all of the 90s kids were doing. We got into trouble, but nothing real bad…you know, the 90s. Always talking trash about ‘East Coast vs. West Coast’ stuff, you know. I came to Atlanta in 1996 and started getting into Jiu-Jitsu and started fighting. I really like Atlanta and now I don’t want to live anywhere else. The pace is just right. It’s not too quick and it’s not too sleepy, either.

Tell me how it feels to represent Brazil in the UFC. What’s it like when you go home?

You know, when I go back to Brazil they treat me like I’m a white boy American. I don’t even look all that Brazilian. You know, I’ve grown up here. I changed from a child to a man here. I didn’t grow up in Brazil. I have a green card right now, but I’ll be getting my citizenship in two more years. When I’m fighting, even though I can’t technically fight under the USA since I’m not a citizen, I’m really fighting for The Dirty South [laughs],The A-T-L, you know? My heart is here, for sure!

As a native to Atlanta, I can only smile with pride and think how great it is to live here and how great it is that others feel the same way.

My brothers are twins. They are 25 and they’ve been training for a little while.. After I got into it, Raphael didn’t care until after about 2 years. Now he’s a phenom. I have to train really hard to keep up with him. He keeps me at the top of my game.

What about your other brother, Freddie?

He trains as a hobby. He’s really good, too, but he just does it to enjoy it.

Where do you/have you trained in Brazil?

Believe it or not, I never trained in Brazil before. This is going to be my first time. I’ve never even been to Rio and I’m a little insecure about it. Rio is a tough place, but the house is walking distance to the mall, the gym, and the beach, so it’s going to be cool. I started my training here in the US. I can’t even wear my Oakley’s there because some one will smash my head to take ‘em. But I’m excited because I’ll be training at Casa Preta.

Tell me about your training and diet.

Right now my diet is real strict. I walk around at 175 and I need to cut weight. I have to cut down to 155. I’ll be going down to The Black House on Wednesday. I’ll be there training in Rio [de Janeiro] for the first time with Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort, Assuerio Silva, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and those guys. It’s gonna be crazy. They are gonna basically kick my butt for a month and five days to get me ready for this fight with Nate Diaz.

Tell me about your current gym.

The guys at Knuckle Up are great. They take good care of me. I teach there and they pay me pretty good. I feel like I’ve really been there to build it to what it is, me and Dustin [Duck], and Steve [Headden]. I was there when we were training out of this guy’s garage and then L.A. Boxing, then it became Velocity Kickboxing, and now it’s Knuckle Up—the guy has like a multi-million dollar company now and I feel like I helped to build it.

What’s been your best fight yet? What’s your most memorable?

My best fight so far was my fight with David Lee in England. That was a great fight. Obviously, my first UFC fight wasn’t that good, but I took it on 10 days notice and I was just concerned about making weight in that amount of time. My most memorable fight was with Dustin Hazelett. He broke my face and when I was waking up in the middle of the fight he was breaking my arm and then I got my senses and started pounding on him and knocked him out. I was hurt so bad I had to take a year off to heal even though I won the fight. I’d kind of like to forget it, but I can’t. It was a good fight.

Who do you respect the most in the sport? Who were your heroes in sport coming up.

Of course, it’s Randy [Couture]. I’m his number 1 fan. You gotta love his heart. It gets me thinking. Where he is makes you realize that the older you get, the smarter you are. I’m so glad that he came back. He really inspires me. I got to meet him and he really makes people feel good when you’re around him. He’s so nice and such an intelligent fighter.

I really like Anderson Silva for what he’s doing, he’s shocking a lot of people like Nate Marquardt. I don’t even want to say this, but I thought that Nate was going to win that fight, but he took the guy out. There wasn’t a guard, there wasn’t a jui-jitsu guy down there It was like he wasn’t even there..

What does the future hold for Junior Assuncao?

I don’t know, man. I feel so comfortable right now. I have no injuries and hopefully in Brazil no one will hurt me. Before, I never even saw the light at the end of the tunnel for a title shot. Just being in the UFC was great but now I’m like, if I beat this guy, they are talking about ‘Junior is one of the favorites here.’ I beat that guy, a lot of things can happen. The next fight will be really tough. I’m going to have to really get serious about it. It’ll also be more money [laughs].

Do you have a contract with The UFC exclusively?

Yeah, I have an exclusive contract for a couple of years, but where else would I want to fight? I mean, for some reason they really like me. They recognize me and every time I see Dana [White] he knows my name and talks to me. He knows my little brothers’ names and talks about them. For some reason they really like me. I haven’t really given them a good show yet.

That is one thing about my fights; I really like to put on a show for the crowd. I don’t care as long as it’s a good show. My brother, he tells me that I’m crazy because I say, “I hope I break my nose in this fight.” He says, “Why do you hope to break your nose?” I tell him that it’s because I’ve never broken my nose, well, I have, but not really good like when I got my face broken.

At this point, it is painfully obvious to me that Junior wears his scars (and cauliflower ear) like a Red Badge of Courage. He’s proud of his fights, win, lose, or draw.

What do you do outside of the sport? What are your hobbies?

Well, besides time with my family and friends, I like to go shooting. I have a Glock 23 .40 caliber and I love to shoot it. I just really like to go to the range.

Junior, you had a disappointing result in your UFC debut, but your return to the Octagon in UFC 70 was anything but disappointing. Did your fight with David Lee go as expected? Not really. I really thought that we would stand up some more. It was a tough fight.

Care to make a prediction about Franklin vs. Silva II?

I don’t know, but I do think that Rich will be more prepared for the fight next time. I’m not sure anybody can take Silva right now.

It’s painfully clear that I’ve met one of the nicest guys in the world. It’s amazing to think that this guy has it in him to beat another man to a bloody pulp. He’s a great mix of humbleness, good ethic, confidence, and friendliness. His Brazilian sing-song accent seems to lull away any fear of chatting him up.

While you may see him throw some incredible combinations inside the Octagon, his most impressive is the combination of his love of God, Family, and his sport and I’m certain that we’ll see a lot more of Junior Assuncao. This young man is certainly set with the heart, determination, and skill that to be an MMA household name.