Bryan Caraway on next opponent: ‘There’s been talks of possibly Michael McDonald or Raphael Assuncao’

Bryan Caraway believes a ‘top five' opponent is on tap for his next octagon outing.

The longtime UFC bantamweight, who is gradually working his way through the ranks, stated that there have been preliminary talks to potentially face either Michael McDonald or Raphael Assuncao in his next fight. He also believes he earned the significant step up in competition, particularly following his submission victory over touted Mexican Erik Perez.

"There's been talks of possibly Michael McDonald or Raphael Assuncao, a guy that's top five in the world," Caraway told MMAjunkie Radio. "I think I earned that."

Caraway, who 4-1 under the UFC banner, has only lost a split decision to Takeya Mizugaki since joining the organization and is keen on taking another step forward after two consecutive wins to face the likes of McDonald.

"I want to fight him (McDonald) not because I don't think he's good, but because I think he is good. He fought for a world title; he fought (Renan) Barao, and he's ranked top five in the world. That's what I want. I want to fight a guy that is top five in the world - (Eddie) Wineland, Raphael, McDonald, (Urijah) Faber, any of those guys."

"Kid Lighting" was also very interested in challenging Assuncao, whom he considers to be the clear No. 1 contender in the division.

"I think anybody who follows MMA believes Assuncao is the No. 1 contender for a long time now, but there's a lot of politics," Caraway said. "He's been hurt; maybe the communication between him and the UFC from him being in Brazil is a little rough."

Transcription taken from MMAJunkie.com.