Former champ Rafael Dos Anjos to make welterweight debut at UFC Singapore this June

Earlier this year, former UFC lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos announced his intention to move up to the welterweight division. The former champ cited an increasingly difficult cut to the lightweight division’s 155-pound cap as the reason for this move.

“I reached the top of [lightweight],” he said in a Tweet. “It’s been a hard journey to make weight every time, now I want to fight at my best. I have new goals, I’m moving to [welterweight]. 

Unsurprisingly, the news that Dos Anjos was heading north to welterweight influenced many notable welterweights to call him out. No welterweight did so with quite as much diligence as the rising Colby Covington, who repeatedly lambasted the former lightweight champ on Twitter.

Unfortunately for Covington, the honor of welcoming os Anjos to the welterweight division will go to somebody else: former Strikeforce welterweight king Tarec Saffiedine. Saffiedine, who has been a member of the welterweight top-15 for some time, will welcome Dos Anjos to the division when the UFC touches down in Singapore on June 17. This news was confirmed by ChannelNewsAsia.com.

Dos Anjos has spent a good portion of his recent career training at Evolve MMA in Singapore, so this is actually a very logical setting for his welterweight debut. It is not known if this fight will serve as the card’s main event.

In addition to this Saffiedine – Dos Anjos welterweight bout, the UFC’s return to Singapore is also highlighted by a heavyweight bout between Andrei Arlovski and Marcin Tybura, and a lightweight bout between Takanori Gomi and Jon Tuck.

Here’s a full rundown of the UFC Singapore lineup thus far:

• Rafael dos Anjos vs. Tarec Saffiedine
• Andrei Arlovski vs. Marcin Tybura
• Russell Doane vs. Kwan Ho Kwak
• Takanori Gomi vs. Jon Tuck
• Ulka Sasaki vs. Justin Scoggins
• Cyril Asker vs. Walt Harris
• Carls John de Tomas vs. Naoki Inoue

How do you think Rafael Dos Anjos will do at welterweight? Sound off, PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 4/3/2017.