Despite his best attempts to do so, Conor Mcgregor didn’t get under Rafael dos Anjos’ skin during their recent UFC 196 pre-fight press conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. Not even interrupting dos Anjos repeatedly and talking about his family could prompt a rebuttal from the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight champion.
“RDA” did admit, though, that the trash-talking Irishman is definitely in his head.
During a recent stop at “The MMA Hour,” dos Anjos explained that he keeps his cool and doesn’t argue with crazy people. But, come fight night, he intends to let out all his rage and beat McGregor to the point that he’ll have nightmares about his decision to move up to 155 pounds.
“This guy thinks because he dresses in expensive clothes and he drives nice cars that he has class, but he is classless. He has no class, he’s a lowlife. I can’t wait to go there. I’m not taking it personal, he’s an actor who is acting. Once I go there, I’m a straight guy, I don’t talk, I do. I’m going to go there and send him back home and to his division. He is going to have nightmares with the lightweight division for the rest of his life.”
Eddie Alvarez previously chimed in on the match up, saying that a “simple” way of defeating McGregor was simply taking him down and pounding him out instead of striking with him. dos Anjos, however, respectfully disagrees, claiming he can take out the Irishman in any aspect of the fight game.
“I don’t agree. I think I can beat this guy anywhere. If I fight a jiu-jitsu match with him I will beat him. If I fight a karate match with him, I will beat him. If I fight K-1 rules I will beat him. I think I can beat him anywhere. I am going to do my job, I am going to do what I’ve always done. I’m going to break him standing, he’s going to feel very bad after I hit him hard several times. And if I want, I will take him down and smash him a bit on the ground. I am not going into this fight saying I’m not going to stand with Conor because I don’t think he brings anything different to me. I’m a better fighter everywhere than him.”
Confidence.
In conclusion, dos Anjos took the opportunity to thank UFC President Dana White for finally giving him an “easy” fight in McGregor after taking on a Murders Row of 155-pound killers such as Anthony Pettis, Ben Henderson and Donald Cerrone. Opponents, “RDA” says, who are much tougher nuts to crack than “Notorious.”
That, of course, remains to be seen.