Rafael dos Anjos ‘wouldn’t be sad’ if he never fought Islam Makhachev

Rafael dos Anjos is closing the door on lightweight—for now. The former UFC champion has spent most of his career down at 155 lbs,…

By: Kristen King | 6 months ago
Rafael dos Anjos ‘wouldn’t be sad’ if he never fought Islam Makhachev
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Rafael dos Anjos is closing the door on lightweight—for now.

The former UFC champion has spent most of his career down at 155 lbs, but decided to return to welterweight for his next appearance. Following his fifth-round KO loss to Rafael Fiziev at UFC Vegas 58 this past July, RDA concluded that a chance at another championship opportunity was slim to none, so he shifted his focus to fights that would ‘motivate’ him. And his upcoming opponent—Bryan Barberena—does exactly that.

“I’m happy with that matchup,” said Dos Anjos at his pre-fight press conference. “He’s coming in on a [three-fight] winning streak. He’s a guy that fights forward. He’s the type of fight that I like. Being three rounds, I think of my last eight fights, seven of them were five rounds, if I’m not wrong. It was good, a little break, too, fighting three rounds. Preparation is a little easier, too. I’m happy with that matchup.”

For the next phase of his career, Dos Anjos appears content with his decision to move up from lightweight to welterweight permanently. That said, there are still some fights that the Brazilian would drop down for, should they become available.

“Just for some very specific fights that I have in mind, I would [drop down to lightweight] again,” said Dos Anjos. “But I don’t have plans to win the title in that division anymore, I’ll be honest with you. A couple of guys that if it’s in a good momentum for me, in my personal life as well, I’ll take the fight.

“As of now, I have Bryan Barberena this Saturday and I’m staying at welterweight,” continued Dos Anjos.

A fight that comes to mind for Dos Anjos was against Islam Makhachev, the newly crowned UFC lightweight champion. The two men were scheduled to fight thrice at UFC 254, UFC Vegas 14, and UFC 267, but each time the bout canceled.

Despite missing out on Makhachev, the Nova União product is fine with never standing across the Octagon from the AKA star.

“We were scheduled to fight a couple of times, but I got injured,” said Dos Anjos. “He pulled out on fight week, as well. We had a chance to fight at welterweight. He threw his name out there. I accepted the fight, he didn’t take it [and] Renato Moicano took it. But I wouldn’t be sad [if we never fought].”

UFC Orlando: Holland vs. Thompson goes down on Sat., Dec. 3, at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla.



UFC Fight Night ORLANDO: Thompson vs. Holland Fight Poster

Live! Stream UFC Fight Night ORLANDO on ESPN+

WELTERWEIGHT SHOWDOWN – Stephen Thompson vs. Kevin Holland — DEC 3: Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to Florida at the Amway Center in Orlando, on Saturday, December 3rd, 2022, with an exciting, much-anticipated 170lb Welterweightweight tilt between Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson (16-6) and Kevin ‘Trailblazer’ Holland (23-8).

In UFC Orlando’s co-main event, hard-hitting Lightweights go to war when Rafael ‘RDA’ dos Anjos squares off with the ‘African Savage’, Bryan Barberena.

Plus — we will be treated to a Flyweight scrap between Matheus Nicolau and Matt ‘Danger’ Schnell, as well as a top contenders Heavyweight brawl, pitting Tai ‘Bam Bam’ Tuivasa against Sergei Pavlovich. The main card doesn’t stop there, don’t miss two Middleweight bouts — we will see Eryk Anders take on Kyle Daukaus and Derek Brunson vs. Jack ‘The Joker’ Hermansson, as all the above are on the main card of this UFC Fight Night Event! Tune-in for a stacked 15-bout event…

Don’t miss a single second of face-punching action!

Share this story

About the author
Kristen King
Kristen King

Kristen King is a writer for Bloody Elbow. She has covered combat sports since 2016, getting her start with outlets such as FanSided, MyMMANews and MMA-Prospects. She joined the BE team in 2020, covering a mix of news, events and injuries. In her time with BE, Kristen has created ‘Fright of the Night,’ a series that highlights some of the worst injuries in the sport.

More from the author

Recent Stories