Raulian Paiva stepped in to replace Raphael Assuncao on Saturday at UFC Vegas 32, taking on Kyler Phillips in his first octagon bout as a bantamweight. If victorious in Las Vegas, Paiva will ask for a quick turnaround against Assuncao.
Once ranked a top-10 in the UFC flyweight division, Paiva hopes to be “thrown at the lions” in the 135-pound class to “show the UFC and the division that I have what it takes do to well” and “fight for the title in the near future.”
“Get me a top-10 or top-12, that’s perfect,” Paiva said of his next step in the bantamweight division during an interview with MMA Fighting.