Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Rafael dos Anjos captured his first win at 155 pounds in five years earlier tonight (Sat., Nov. 14, 2020) at UFC Vegas 14 live on ESPN+ from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, when the former UFC lightweight champion dominated late-replacement Paul Felder via unanimous decision.
Dos Anjos came out firing with heavy kicks to the body and legs, but Felder was able to cut him on the forehead. The former champion pushed Felder against the cage and secured the first takedown of the fight. Felder would eventually return to his feet and landed a nasty uppercut. Felder would find a home for a few more crisp strike before the bell.
In Round 2, RDA started to find a home for his straight right as Felder returned fire with a few occasional power shots and elbows. Dos Anjos responded with a nasty shot to the body before securing another takedown along the cage.
The third round saw dos Anjos go back to the well as he fought for another takedown along the cage. Felder kept defending well, but he gave up valuable top time to the former lightweight king. “Irish Dragon” fired back late into the fight with elbows in the clinch but RDA maintained control all the way through and secured a slamming takedown with moments left.
Felder came out firing in the fourth round to make up some ground on the scorecards but dos Anjos responded with a brutal body kick and solid distance control. Dos Anjos eventually moved inside and pinned Felder against the cage. Felder fought the positioning off, separated for some strong punches, and landed his own takedown in the center of the cage.
The fifth and final round saw Felder empty the gas tank and come out looking for the knockout. He tried to connect but RDA was elusive enough to avoid big shots and move in for another takedown. Felder wasn’t able to do much of anything else as dos Anjos cruised to the unanimous decision win.
Check out the video highlights below courtesy of UFC/ESPN:
Back to his old stomping grounds!!@RdosAnjosMMA makes his return to lightweight next at #UFCVegas14! pic.twitter.com/BPqelldKKW
— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) November 15, 2020
The man of the week!!@felderpaul was supposed to be commentating tonight, now he’s in our #UFCVegas14 main event pic.twitter.com/fno4wyz82Z
— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) November 15, 2020
Warriors!
The short-notice matchup goes down now
[ Tune in on #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/SQlNnBYMiN
— UFC (@ufc) November 15, 2020
Ya vemos el poder de ambos llegando poco a poco #UFCVegas14 pic.twitter.com/oWG5ReUhdo
— ufcespanol (@UFCEspanol) November 15, 2020
Dosanjos conectando fuerte al final del round #UFCVegas14 pic.twitter.com/5gxXsGX9e2
— ufcespanol (@UFCEspanol) November 15, 2020
Go inside the Felder corner between rounds #uFCVegas14 pic.twitter.com/A1O1UrqszG
— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) November 15, 2020
Rápido y preciso se está viendo el excampeón Dos Anjos #UFCVegas14 pic.twitter.com/JhYQTKaHME
— ufcespanol (@UFCEspanol) November 15, 2020
Le piden a Felder ir por una finalización y alejarse de la reja, y empieza agresivo el 4o round #UFCVegas14 pic.twitter.com/DMrUL8leRI
— ufcespanol (@UFCEspanol) November 15, 2020
algunas de las mejores acciones de cada round #UFCVegas14 pic.twitter.com/1VUivcDkf5
— ufcespanol (@UFCEspanol) November 15, 2020
Lightweights, watch out!
@RdosAnjosMMA is back and ready to make a run. #UFCVegas14 pic.twitter.com/PC9tKyqM74
— UFC (@ufc) November 15, 2020
For complete UFC Vegas 14 results and coverage click here.