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Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) first-ever trip to Raleigh, North Carolina is really turning out to be a star-studded affair. Headlining UFC Fight Night 166 on Jan. 25, 2020 will be a Heavyweight bout that will see former title holder, Junior dos Santos, take on Curtis Blaydes.
In the co-main event, Frankie Edgar will face off against Cory Sandhagen in what will be “The Answer’s” debut at Bantamweight. And now, another thrilling matchup has been added to the docket, as ESPN reports that Rafael dos Anjos will face Michael Chiesa in main card action.
Since moving up to 170 pounds lat last year, Chiesa has been on a roll, winning back-to-back fights against Carlos Condit and Diego Sanchez. It’s a nice turnaround for “maverick,” who was coming in with two straight loss as a Lightweight.
As for dos Anjos, he started his 170-pound journey on a hot streak, winning three in a row against Tarec Saffiedine, Neil Magny and Robbie Lawler. Since then, however, the Brazilian bomber has cooled off, losing three of his last four.
On that note, his losses did come against the cream of the crop, dropping consecutive bouts against division king, Kamaru Usman, and ex-interim champion, Colby Covington. Rafael was most recently seen losing to Leon Edwards at UFC on ESPN 4 this past July.
A wi nfor either man wil lgive him a big boost up the laddr in what is perhaps UFC’s most stacked weight class. Predictions?
To see the full ESPN+-streamed event — which will go down inside PNC Arena — click here.