Rafael dos Anjos says dropping back down to 155 pounds would be a major “sacrifice,” but one he would be willing to take for a lucrative bout with fellow ex-UFC lightweight champ Conor McGregor.
Rafael dos Anjos is focused on his run at welterweight, but said he would consider a return to lightweight if given the right opportunity.
Dos Anjos, a former UFC lightweight champion, meets Kevin Lee in the UFC Rochester main event on Saturday night. The Brazilian moved up to 170 pounds in 2017 after two straight losses, including a title loss to Eddie Alvarez in 2016. The weight cut was getting to be too much for dos Anjos.
He found success early on at welterweight, recording three straight wins, but now finds himself on another two-fight skid heading into the Lee matchup — and thinking about 155 pounds.
Dos Anjos said he would return to lightweight for a fight against fellow ex-champ Conor McGregor, but not much else than that.
“Me and Conor, we’ve been scheduled to fight I think twice,” dos Anjos said Thursday at media day (via MMAjunkie.com). “But we almost — I broke my foot two weeks before that fight. And I didn’t know, but we were about to fight in Brazil for the interim welterweight title, that’s what I heard. I think that fight, if I get several weeks’ notice, like three to four months’ notice, I think I could make that sacrifice.”
Dos Anjos was scheduled to fight McGregor in a superfight at UFC 196 in 2016. At the time, dos Anjos held the 155-pound belt and McGregor was the featherweight champion. McGregor was moving up to lightweight for the first time in his UFC career. But dos Anjos fell out of the bout just weeks before and was replaced by Nate Diaz, who went on to submit McGregor in a welterweight bout at the event.
Dos Anjos vs. McGregor was also discussed as a potential interim welterweight title fight at UFC 224 last year, but it did not come to fruition following McGregor’s bus attack in Brooklyn at UFC 223.
For now, Dos Anjos has his eyes set on only Lee, who is also coming off a loss. If McGregor does feel up to a fight down the road, however, the 34-year-old said dropping back down to lightweight would be difficult, but probably worth it.
“If I would, I would probably have to have at least three months’ notice that I could do the right transition, and I got to change my whole schedule, my whole diet, it’s going to be hard, and it’s got to be the fight that is worth it for the sacrifice,” dos Anjos said. “But as of now, I’m just thinking to be on welterweight.”