Though he was able to fight for and ultimately win the UFC lightweight belt at UFC 185 with a torn MCL, Rafael dos Anjos still hasn’t been cleared to make his first title defense.
Not yet, anyway.
According to a report on UFC Tonight, Dos Anjos is still recovering from the torn medial collateral ligament he suffered three weeks before beating Anthony Pettis to win the belt. His manager, Ali Abdel-Aziz, said that the Brazilian is looking at making a return to the Octagon in December.
As for who he will fight, the Dos Anjos’ camp said they believe that Donald Cerrone is the forerunner to the first crack at the title. If that fight materializes, it will be a rematch. Dos Anjos, who has won four fights in a row overall, defeated Cerrone at UFC Fight Night 27 in 2013 via unanimous decision. Cerrone has rattled off eight straight wins since that encounter in Indianapolis.
The only fighter to defeat Dos Anjos in his last 10 fights was Khabib Nurmagomedov, who was supposed to fight Cerrone at UFC 187 in a No. 1 contender’s bout. With Nurmagomedov suffering a knee injury in training just a little under a month before the fight, John Makdessi stood in against Cerrone in his stead.
Cerrone won via TKO (retirement) after breaking Makessi’s jaw in the second round.