Video recap: Dos Anjos defeats Felder by split decision

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Rafael Dos Anjos snaps his two-fight losing streak with a split decision win over Paul Felder at UFC Vegas 14.

In the main event of UFC Vegas 14, Rafael Dos Anjos earned a split decision (48-47, 50-45, 50-45) win over No. 7 ranked lightweight contender, Paul Felder.

What was the high point of the fight?

The first round between Dos Anjos and Felder laid the groundwork for how the fight played out. Both men started off striking, dropping some absolute bombs on one another before Dos Anjos shot in for a takedown against Felder. After a few seconds on the ground, Felder was able to return to his feet and straight back to the center of the Octagon. Dos Anjos and Felder were comfortable exchanging strikes, so they did this for the better part of the fight with attempted takedowns and clinch work littered in between.

Around the fourth round, Felder was told he was down by three rounds and needed to look for a finish. Felder kept the fight standing and stuffed the takedowns from Dos Anjos for as long as he could, but Dos Anjos was eventually able to get inside and keep Felder up against the cage yet again. In the final minute of the fourth, a big left hand caught Felder clean on the forehead and opened up a cut that continued to bleed throughout the fifth and final round. At the end of 25 minutes, Dos Anjos was declared the winner by split decision.

Where do they go from here?

Dos Anjos reintroduced himself to the lightweight division with a dominant performance over Felder and will likely be a part of the top ten by Monday. Dos Anjos has made it clear that he wants to fight for the championship again and told Michael Bisping during his post-fight interview that a fight with fellow former champion, Conor McGregor, makes sense. It does, but perhaps not at this time. Dos Anjos should fight Dan Hooker.

Felder put to bed any questions of whether or not he was going to continue fighting when he emphatically stated he would not be going anywhere. As he acknowledged during his post-fight interview, his spot in the rankings may drop, but that should not put him out of the top 15. If he wants to fight again, then he should do it against Al Iaquinta.

Watch it now, later or never?

This was a showcase fight for Dos Anjos, who looked great in his first fight back at lightweight in over three years, so watch it now.