Rafael dos Anjos News

Chris Taylor - January 2, 2022

Surging lightweight contender Rafael Fiziev is not interested in seeing a rematch between Rafael Dos Anjos and Tony Ferguson. The UFC’s former lightweight champion, Dos Anjos (31-13 MMA), who has not competed since November of 2020, recently called out his former opponent in Ferguson on Twitter.

Susan Cox - December 6, 2021

Colby Covington has no remorse about labeling Brazil as a country filled with “filthy animals” in the lead up to his fight with Rafael dos Anjos. The UFC’s former interim welterweight champion, Covington (16-3 MMA), turned heel back in 2017 after scoring a unanimous decision victory over Demian Maia in São Paulo.

Adam D Martin - November 19, 2021

UFC superstar Nate Diaz and former champ Rafael Dos Anjos ripped UFC analyst Daniel Cormier over his best boxers in MMA list. Cormier and his “RC and DC” co-host Ryan Clark recently shared their list of the top five boxers in mixed martial arts. Check out the full lists that both fighters shared below.

Adam D Martin - November 17, 2021

Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos sent a message to longtime rival Conor McGregor, saying “see you in 2022.” Dos Anjos becomes the latest in a long line of fighters to call out McGregor. In the last few weeks, we have seen a number of MMA fighters such as Max Holloway call out McGregor for his highly-anticipated return to the cage in 2022. But if you ask dos Anjos, it will be him who gets the fight, nearly six years after their first fight fell apart ahead of UFC 196.

Adam D Martin - September 20, 2021

Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos believes that he is still on Conor McGregor’s radar for when the Irishman returns to action. Dos Anjos is set to fight Islam Makhachev at UFC 267 next month in what could potentially be a title eliminator at 155lbs. As for McGregor, he is currently on the sidelines injured after breaking his leg at UFC 264 against Dustin Poirier. While McGregor will be out for up to one year with his injury, he has promised that he will do everything in his power to return to the Octagon, and dos Anjos believes that he will indeed make a comeback.

Adam D Martin - September 3, 2021

Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos say that the Islam Makhachev fight at UFC 267 is his last chance to earn a title shot. Now 36 years old, it has been five years now since dos Anjos lost the UFC lightweight title to Eddie Alvarez. However, after beating Paul Felder in his last fight to cement himself as one of the top-10 lightweights in the world, dos Anjos believes he still has something inside of him to make one more run at the UFC lightweight title, and it all starts with a win over the much-hyped Makhachev at UFC 267 in October.

Adam D Martin - August 31, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Rafael dos Anjos believes that UFC analyst Daniel Cormier is hyping up his teammate Islam Makhachev too much. Dos Anjos meets Makhachev at UFC 267 in October in what could be a No. 1 contender fight in the UFC lightweight division. For RDA, he’s been scheduled to fight Makhachev twice previously, so he’s looking forward to finally getting the chance to fight his rival and prove that he’s hyped up too much. Speaking to AG Fight ahead of their matchup, dos Anjos explained why he believes Makhachev is getting too much hype. As far as dos Anjos is concerned, his teammate at Kings MMA in Beneil Dariush isn’t getting the respect that he deserves because he doesn’t have AKA’s Cormier and Khabib Nurmagomedov hyping him.

Adam D Martin - August 13, 2021

Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos explained what makes Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev different fighters. Dos Anjos steps back into the Octagon on October 30 in Abu Dhabi when he faces off against Makhachev at UFC 267. This is a fight that the UFC tried to book twice in 2020 but was unable to do so due to COVID-19 and other injuries. Now that both fighters are fully healthy, dos Anjos and Makhachev will meet this fall in what is a potential No. 1 contender bout for the belt that Makhachev’s teammate Nurmagomedov held at this point a year ago.

Harry Kettle - July 26, 2021

Rafael dos Anjos has responded to being labelled a grandpa by Islam Makhachev as their war of words continues. Makhachev and dos Anjos have been booked to fight one another on two separate occasions but due to COVID-19 and an injury setback, the bout hasn’t actually taken place. The two lightweights are viewed by many as great contenders in their own right, although there’s an argument to be made that RDA is the “past” and Makhachev is the future – based on the trajectory of their careers, that is.

Adam D Martin - July 22, 2021

Rafael dos Anjos says he wants to beat Islam Makhachev at UFC 267 and then get the rematch with his teammate Khabib Nurmagomedov. Dos Anjos and Nurmagomedov fought back in 2014, with Nurmagomedov winning the fight via unanimous decision. However, in a twist of fate, Nurmagomedov suffered an injury following that fight, and dos Anjos actually got the chance to fight for the UFC lightweight belt before him, defeating Anthony Pettis to take home the title in 2015. Dos Anjos would lose the belt in 2016 to Eddie Alvarez, and Nurmagomedov finally claimed it himself in 2018 when he defeated Al Iaquinta. Although Nurmagomedov is now retired from MMA, dos Anjos still wants this rematch one day in order to avenge his earlier career defeat.

Adam D Martin - July 13, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Rafael dos Anjos targeted “little boy” Conor McGregor following UFC 264, saying that “I would smash that guy.” Dos Anjos was the backup fighter at UFC 264, being brought in by the promotion in case of a withdrawal by either McGregor or his rival Dustin Poirier. RDA weighed in successfully on Friday for the backup spot, but he was not needed on Saturday as both Poirier and McGregor successfully made it to the fight unscathed. Ironically, the fight ended when McGregor broke his leg in the first round, leading to Poirier winning via first-round TKO.

Adam D Martin - July 11, 2021

Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos was happy to see Conor McGregor get a taste of his own medicine with his injury at UFC 264. McGregor broke his ankle and lost via TKO (doctor stoppage) at the end of the first round against rival Dustin Poirier in the main event of Saturday’s big pay-per-view card in Las Vegas. For dos Anjos, seeing the Irishman break his ankle was karma for the way that McGregor talked about RDA when he broke his foot five years ago. Remember, RDA and McGregor were supposed to fight at UFC 196 in March 2016, but the fight never ended up materializing due to RDA’s injury. Instead of dos Anjos vs. McGregor, Nate Diaz stepped up on short notice, submitted McGregor with a rear-naked choke, and the rest is history.

Adam D Martin - July 8, 2021

UFC superstar Conor McGregor reacted after Rafael dos Anjos was tabbed as the backup for his UFC 264 main event fight against Dustin Poirier. On Wednesday, reports emerged that dos Anjos was spotted in Las Vegas and was cutting weight in preparation for Friday’s weigh-in ahead of UFC 264. Apparently dos Anjos was brought in by the UFC as the backup fighter for the UFC 264 main event just in case anything happens to either McGregor or Poirier. In the event that someone gets injured, sick, or doesn’t pass COVID-19 protocols, the UFC will have dos Anjos step in and fight on Saturday night. The hope is that it doesn’t come to that, but RDA is insurance either way.

Adam D Martin - May 18, 2021

Middleweight Darren Till says he was inspired by Charles Oliveira’s win over Michael Chandler at UFC 262 after being “looked over” for years. Oliveira knocked out Chandler in the second round of their main event fight at this past Saturday’s UFC 262 to become the new UFC lightweight champion. The Brazilian has been in the UFC since 2010 but for years, he struggled to be consistent as he juggled between featherweight and lightweight and couldn’t string wins together. After committing to 155lbs again, Oliviera has been on a roll the last several years and is currently riding a nine-fight win streak. It’s been an incredible journey to the top, especially given all the question marks about Oliveira over the years, with many fans labeling him as a “quitter.”

Cole Shelton - April 13, 2021

Rafael dos Anjos is hoping he can replace Dustin Poirier and face Conor McGregor on July 10. After McGregor and Poirier had a back-and-forth on social media due to the failed payment from McGregor’s to Poirier’s charity. Following the heated exchange, the Irishman claimed the fight was off and he would be facing someone else and Rafael dos Anjos hopes he is that opponent.

Adam D Martin - April 5, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker is targeting a matchup against former champion Rafael dos Anjos the next time he steps into the Octagon. Hooker hasn’t fought since January when he suffered a first-round KO loss to Michael Chandler at UFC 257. It was a tough loss for Hooker, who prior to that had lost a unanimous decision to Dustin Poirier in a 2020 “Fight of the Year” candidate. Prior to those two defeats, Hooker had won three straight fights including wins over Paul Felder, Al Iaquinta, and James Vick. Despite dropping his last two bouts, the Kiwi has proven time and time again that he’s one of the best lightweights in the world, and even though he hasn’t got his hand raised in over a year, he’s still a top-10 ranked lightweight in the UFC.

Cole Shelton - March 23, 2021

Islam Makhachev believes he will face a top-10 opponent next time out. At UFC 259, Makhachev dominated Drew Dober en route to a third-round submission win. The victory extended his winning streak to seven in a row and is looking to fight a top-ranked opponent. The goal was to rebook the Rafael dos Anjos fight this summer in the main event spot, but he is also open to fighting anyone in the top-10.

Adam D Martin - March 23, 2021

Islam Makhachev says that divisional rival Michael Chandler doesn’t deserve to fight Charles Oliveira for the vacant UFC lightweight title. Last week, Makhachev’s good friend, former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, announced his retirement from MMA. That means the 155lbs belt is now vacated, and the promotion quickly moved to book Chandler vs. Oliveira in the main event of UFC 262 in Houston for the vacant title. It’s a great fight on paper between two of the top-five ranked lightweights in the UFC, but some believe it wasn’t the right fight to make.