Rafael dos Anjos News

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 Martin - September 26, 2021

Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos is injured and he has been forced to pull out of his UFC 267 fight against Islam Makhachev. Makhachev took to his social media on Sunday to message dos Anjos and tell him that he doesn’t believe he is actually injured. Dos Anjos then responded to his rival, telling him that he is indeed truly injured and he will not be able to make the walk next month at UFC 267.

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.

Drake Riggs - August 2, 2021

Islam Makhachev is officially set for his biggest fight yet as he and Rafael dos Anjos have been rebooked for an October showdown. ESPN broke the news on Monday that the pair of ranked lightweights are set to compete at UFC 267 on October 30 in Abu Dhabi. They were originally scheduled to clash twice in 2020. The first being for October only to fall through due to dos Anjos contracting COVID-19. Makhachev was then forced out with an injury when rebooked for a month later.

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

Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos fired back after Conor McGregor said to put him in the cage against him at UFC 264. There are reports emerging from Las Vegas which suggest that dos Anjos is the backup fighter for the UFC 264 main event between McGregor and Dustin Poirier. The UFC hasn’t officially tabbed dos Anjos as the backup fighter, but people in Las Vegas have seen him at the fighter hotel cutting weight just in case something happens to either McGregor or Poirier ahead of Saturday’s pay-per-view card. In the event that the unthinkable happens and one of these two men falls off the card, the UFC will have dos Anjos step in and fight.

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.

Chris Taylor - April 3, 2021

Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos had made it clear that he is interested in fighting Justin Gaethje his next time out. Dos Anjos (30-13 MMA) returned to the promotions lightweight division back in November, where he picked up a thrilling ‘fight of the night’ split-decision victory over Paul Felder.

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.

Adam Martin - March 10, 2021

UFC lightweight Rafael dos Anjos says he is open to fighting Islam Makhachev but there is a special condition that needs to be met first. Dos Anjos and Makhachev were supposed to meet back at UFC 254 in October and then at a UFC Fight Night card in November, but the fight was postponed and eventually scratched. Dos Anjos instead fought Paul Felder and beat him by split decision, while Makhachev returned to the Octagon this past Saturday at UFC 259, defeating Drew Dober via third-round submission.