The UFC has rematch fever, babayyy!! Thankfully, this one actually makes the smallest bit of sense.
Nearly three years after they first clashed horns at Fight Night 27, Donald Cerrone and Rafael Dos Anjos will do battle again, only this time, the lightweight title will be on the line. Fox Sports’ Damon Martin broke the news of the Dos Anjos-Cerrone rematch earlier today, which is scheduled to transpire at UFC on FOX 17 in the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida on December 19th.
The UFC has rematch fever, babayyy!! Thankfully, this one actually makes the smallest bit of sense.
Nearly three years after they first clashed horns at Fight Night 27, Donald Cerrone and Rafael Dos Anjos will do battle again, only this time, the lightweight title will be on the line. Fox Sports’ Damon Martin broke the news of the Dos Anjos-Cerrone rematch earlier today, which is scheduled to transpire at UFC on FOX 17 in the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida on December 19th.
It’s been a long road to the title for “Cowboy,” who has put together an unbelievable 8 consecutive wins since his previous fight with Dos Anjos. Among his list of victims: Edson Barboza, Eddie Alvarez, Ben Henderson, and most recently, John Makdessi. He also made headlines back in July when he threw a not-so-subtle jab at Dos Anjos for being a steroid user via the Twitters:
Dos Anjos was quick to respond, stating “Anthony and Diaz beat your ass did you see what I did to them i’ll make sure to give you the worst beating,” which fits the minimum criteria to throw a “GRUDGE MATCH” stamp on this fight.
Will the Brazilian put another beating on Cerrone, or are we finally entering The Cowboy Era? Give us your predictions in the comments section (if it’s working), Nation.
The UFC has rematch fever, babayyy!! Thankfully, this one actually makes the smallest bit of sense.
Nearly three years after they first clashed horns at Fight Night 27, Donald Cerrone and Rafael Dos Anjos will do battle again, only this time, the lightweight title will be on the line. Fox Sports’ Damon Martin broke the news of the Dos Anjos-Cerrone rematch earlier today, which is scheduled to transpire at UFC on FOX 17 in the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida on December 19th.
The UFC has rematch fever, babayyy!! Thankfully, this one actually makes the smallest bit of sense.
Nearly three years after they first clashed horns at Fight Night 27, Donald Cerrone and Rafael Dos Anjos will do battle again, only this time, the lightweight title will be on the line. Fox Sports’ Damon Martin broke the news of the Dos Anjos-Cerrone rematch earlier today, which is scheduled to transpire at UFC on FOX 17 in the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida on December 19th.
It’s been a long road to the title for “Cowboy,” who has put together an unbelievable 8 consecutive wins since his previous fight with Dos Anjos. Among his list of victims: Edson Barboza, Eddie Alvarez, Ben Henderson, and most recently, John Makdessi. He also made headlines back in July when he threw a not-so-subtle jab at Dos Anjos for being a steroid user via the Twitters:
Dos Anjos was quick to respond, stating “Anthony and Diaz beat your ass did you see what I did to them i’ll make sure to give you the worst beating,” which fits the minimum criteria to throw a “GRUDGE MATCH” stamp on this fight.
Will the Brazilian put another beating on Cerrone, or are we finally entering The Cowboy Era? Give us your predictions in the comments section (if it’s working), Nation.
Donald Cerrone isn’t one to sit around and wait for a fight, but a shot at the lightweight title is apparently something he’ll make an exception for.
The hard-charging striker has become one of the most popular fighters in mixed martial arts due to his…
Donald Cerrone isn’t one to sit around and wait for a fight, but a shot at the lightweight title is apparently something he’ll make an exception for.
The hard-charging striker has become one of the most popular fighters in mixed martial arts due to his anytime, anyplace mentality, and has backed up that bold talk by stepping in against anyone the UFC has put across from him. The Colorado native’s current eight-fight winning streak is further proof of this mindset as a mixture of short notice turns and last-minute opponent changes have all found themselves on the losing end of a another impressive Cerrone performance.
The most recent victim on the Jackson/Winkeljohn representative’s run was John Makdessi at UFC 187, as Cerrone landed a head kick that forced The Bull to verbally submit due to a broken jaw suffered upon impact. With the win, Cerrone become the clear No. 1 contender for the lightweight crown, but with champion Rafael dos Anjos on the shelf recovering from injury, it was unclear whether or not the rangy striker would wait for his shot to materialize or take another bout in the interim.
That question was answered on Wednesday night’s version of UFC Tonight (h/t Damon Martin Fox Sports), as the UFC confirmed to the program Cerrone would be sitting out and waiting for his title shot. While there is no definitive time line set for RDA’s return to action, the promotion figures the Kings MMA representative will be ready to defend his title before the end of the year. With no other matchup besides a rematch with Cerrone making sense, it’s possible Cowboy could get his long-awaited title opportunity before 2015 comes to a close.
The two fighters initially crossed paths at Fight Night 27 in Indianapolis back in August of 2013 with dos Anjos earning a clear-cut unanimous decision victory on the judges’ scorecards. Since his loss to the Rafael Cordeiro-trained fighter in “The Circle City,” Cerrone has not only bested eight consecutive opponents, but has done so in what is arguably the most talent-rich division under the UFC banner.
And while dos Anjos would go on to lose to undefeated upstart Khabib Nurmagomedov in his next bout after defeating the Albuquerque-based fighter, that loss sparked the most impressive run of the 30-year-old grappling ace’s career. Dos Anjos has notched four-straight wins since losing to The Eagle, with his most recent victory coming in dominate fashion as he battered Anthony Pettis for 25 minutes to become the new lightweight champion.
The injury dos Anjos is currently recuperating from came during his tilt with Showtime, and he’s yet to make his first official attempt to defend the lightweight strap. Per Wednesday’s report on UFC Tonight, it seems that opportunity will come at the end of 2015, and Cerrone is going to be his dance partner inside the Octagon.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
Rafael dos Anjos’ rise through the ranks to become champion of the UFC’s lightweight division has been a special sight to behold, and he doesn’t see Conor McGregor as a threat to his title reign.
Where the savvy veteran once struggled to gain traction …
Rafael dos Anjos‘ rise through the ranks to become champion of the UFC’s lightweight division has been a special sight to behold, and he doesn’t see ConorMcGregor as a threat to his title reign.
Where the savvy veteran once struggled to gain traction in the 155-pound division, “RDA” pressed to evolve his skill set and those efforts took him to the top of one of the deepest collectives under the UFC banner. His journey culminated with a March drubbing of Anthony Pettis at UFC 185, a fight where the hard-nosed Brazilian pummeled “Showtime” from pillar to post throughout the 25-minute affair.
Despite being a heavy underdog in the bout, dos Anjos shocked the world with his performance in Dallas, and he intends to keep the lightweight strap for a long time. The victory over Pettis gave dos Anjos a tremendous amount of momentum and, with that in mind, he took the time during a recent visit to Submission Radio to issue a warning to Irish superstar ConorMcGregor.
The featherweight title challenger has talked about making a run at the lightweight title once he’s finished handling his business in the 145-pound division—a move dos Anjos strongly urged him against. McGregor has also publicly stated his belief that he can defeat dos Anjos, a line of thought the current lightweight champion does not deem realistic.
“Man, I don’t know how this guy thinks that. He flatters himself too much. I don’t see it in any way. I can stop the fight with him in my closed guard. I can stop the fight on bottom…whatever position he wants. There’s no way he can beat me. I don’t see, like, any way. He’s a good fighter, but he needs to take care of the featherweight division first, man. The lightweight division is a shark tank, you know? He better stay in the featherweight division.”
While the champion’s next bout currently remains uncertain, his next opponent will more than likely come from the upcoming tilt between Donald Cerrone and KhabibNurmagomedov at UFC 187 on May 23. Dos Anjos has faced both men on previous occasions, but experienced mixed results in those outings. He defeated “Cowboy” via a unanimous decision during their tilt at Fight Night 27 in Indianapolis, while Nurmagomedov provided the lone blemish on dos Anjos‘ record during his recent 10-fight run to become lightweight champion.
As for McGregor, the brash-talking Irishman is set to square off with Brazilian phenom Jose Aldo in the main event at UFC 189 on July 11 in Las Vegas. He earned the title opportunity by winning five consecutive showings inside the Octagon, where he finished his opposition in all but one of those bouts. His run of impressive performances, in addition to his unique talent for self-promotion, put him on the fast track for title contention and his showdown with Aldo is easily one of the most anticipated fights on the schedule for 2015.
Though there is currently no clear road to a matchup between dos Anjos and McGregor, it would be difficult to imagine it not being a fight both the UFC and its passionate fan base could get behind.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
There was a bittersweet quality to Rafael dos Anjos’ victory over Anthony Pettis at UFC 185.
It was as if, even as he was winning the lightweight title, Dos Anjos couldn’t win.
The new champion turned in a commanding performance on Saturday…
There was a bittersweet quality to Rafael dos Anjos’ victory over Anthony Pettis at UFC 185.
It was as if, even as he was winning the lightweight title, Dos Anjos couldn’t win.
The new champion turned in a commanding performance on Saturday night, succinctly dragging all of Pettis’ weaknesses out of the dark recesses of our memories and putting them on full display. He beat Pettis up on the feet, stifled his flashy, sometimes garish offense with workmanlike forward pressure and took him down at will.
Against fairly long odds, Dos Anjos won every single painstaking round, suddenly and utterly changing the trajectory of the 155-pound division before our very eyes.
Yet, somehow we couldn’t enjoy his triumph for what it was. We couldn’t even appreciate it in the moment without already spinning it forward, wondering aloud if he’ll prove to be more than just a transitional champion.
“You know who’s watching this fight and getting excited?” UFC color commentator Joe Rogan asked in the early stages of the fourth round.
Play-by-play announcer Mike Goldberg already knew the answer: “KhabibNurmagomedov?”
“That’s right,” Rogan said, “because he is the best grappler in this division and he has done to Dos Anjos what Dos Anjos is doing to Pettis.”
A round later, Rogan brought up Nurmagomedov again, saying he was likely “licking his chops” at the prospect of having Dos Anjos as champion. So, even as the 30-year-old Brazilian earned a 50-45 sweep on all three judges’ scorecards and began filling his post-fight interview with bland religious platitudes, the message was already out there.
This guy might not be here all that long.
How unspeakably frustrating must this reception have been for Dos Anjos? Here he was winning the UFC title under career-making circumstances and it still wasn’t quite good enough.
The greatest moment of his life hadn’t even fully passed and conventional wisdom was already suggesting he was just keeping the UFC title warm for Nurmagomedov.
Unfair? Maybe. Unfounded? Not quite. Truth is, the skepticism shouldn’t really be a surprise. Few had Dos Anjos pegged as the lightweight class’ next breakout star.
Through his first three years in the UFC he was no better than a .500 fighter, cleaning up against also-rans like Rob Emerson and Terry Etim, but faltering when matched against mainstays like GleisonTibau or Clay Guida.
Even after it all seemed to click for him, his ceiling didn’t appear as high as other up-and-comers. He put together a 5-0 run during 2012-13, only to have the streak halted in crushing fashion by Nurmagomedov in April 2014.
That bout seemed to be the final word on Dos Anjos’ fitness as a contender. He just couldn’t keep Nurmagomedov off of him, smothered by the undefeated Sambo specialist’s near peerless grappling attack en route to a unanimous-decision loss.
There was no shame in this—the same thing has happened to Nurmagomedov’s other 21 opponents, too—but it felt as though Dos Anjos had slipped a step behind the rest of the elite fighters in his division.
Even after he regrouped for three more wins, his rise to contender status was slow and quiet. In fact, it probably would’ve been Nurmagomedov fighting Pettis at UFC 185 had he been healthy enough to make the date. Unfortunately, Nurmagomedov was still out tending to a torn meniscus when Pettis emerged victorious over Gilbert Melendez at UFC 181, and so Dos Anjos got the next shot.
He wasn’t really supposed to win. He’d looked impressive in his most recent performances—including back-to-back victories over Benson Henderson and Nate Diaz—but Pettis was flying too high to be stopped.
Or so we thought.
Dos Anjos’ victory was the kind that only became obvious in hindsight. He came equipped with the perfect game plan and executed it flawlessly, making us question everything we thought we knew about the lightweight pecking order.
Nobody saw it coming.
Well, nobody except Nurmagomedov, who told MMAFighting.com’s Marc Raimondi the week of the fight he thought Dos Anjos would “smash” Pettis. Now that he’s been proved right, Nurmagomedov—who is rapidly becoming one of the best talkers in the UFC’s most competitive weight class—has his eye on the title.
First, though, he still has to take on Donald Cerrone in a presumptive No. 1 contender bout at UFC 187.
“I feel I am the No. 1 lightweight in the world,” Nurmagomedov told Fox Sports’ Damon Martin this week. “I am very focused for my next fight versus ‘Cowboy’ (Cerrone). I will come back strong, beat Cowboy…and after that I want my fight against Rafael dos Anjos because he has my belt.”
It seems as though most observers are on board with that analysis. If and when it happens, Nurmagomedov will almost certainly be the betting favorite against Dos Anjos. Most people have a difficult time imagining their second bout going much differently than the first, and expect another grappling tutorial from the Russian.
Of course, this line of reasoning jumps to some fairly substantial conclusions. A lot could still happen to foul up Nurmagomedov‘s plan.
For starters, it was revealed in the wake of UFC 185 that Dos Anjos defeated Pettis with a torn MCL. He also suffered a broken nose during the fight, and his recuperation from both will put him out of action for at least three months.
Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov could lose to the streaking Cowboy, or could suffer another injury that makes it hard to line his schedule up with the champion’s.
But if that rematch does get made, make no mistake: Dos Anjos will have two tough battles on his hands.
First, he’ll have to figure a way to deal with Nurmagomedov’s remarkable wrestling attack.
Second, he’ll have to win over his many doubters and prove he’s fit for the crown.
How wrong we were.
Anthony Pettis was supposed to take another step toward the top of the pound-for-pound mountain after destroying a tough Rafael dos Anjos. That didn’t happen.
Carla Esparza was supposed to walk across the Octagon and stalk her taller…
How wrong we were.
Anthony Pettis was supposed to take another step toward the top of the pound-for-pound mountain after destroying a tough Rafael dos Anjos. That didn’t happen.
Carla Esparza was supposed to walk across the Octagon and stalk her taller opponent before utilizing her superior wrestling en route to cementing her status as the best strawweight on the planet. That also didn’t happen.
But for as little as our predictions coincided with reality, there’s little reason to be upset. Sure, two of the champions lost their crowns, one of which looked to be one of the more promising young stars of the lighter weight classes. But when one champion falls, another rises.
Here are the three stars who emerged from UFC 185.
Joseph Duffy
He may not have received the same sort of recognition that Jake Shields or Eddie Alvarez did when they first signed with the UFC, but Joseph Duffy was already famous for at least one of his accomplishments outside of the Octagon: He’s the last man to defeat Conor McGregor. He did so five years ago in less than a minute. Trust me, the UFC won’t let you forget it in the lead-up to Duffy’s next bout.
It may have only been about two minutes of work inside of the cage, but Duffy showcased enough of his striking ability—which isn’t even his forte, mind you—to get people to take notice. That’s not to say he won’t have trouble when facing the crop of fighters that rest atop the UFC’s lightweight ranks (or featherweight ranks, assuming he moves down to face McGregor one day), but you can bet that the world will pay greater attention to Duffy’s next Octagon appearance.
Rafael dos Anjos
Of course this guy’s here. You don’t just beat the incumbent champion for five full rounds without making it onto a list like this.
After spending seven years as journeyman in the UFC, dos Anjos finally took that step. He became a UFC champion in what is often considered the toughest division in all of MMA. But he didn’t just beat the champion; he destroyed the champion. As Dana White put it, nobody actually thought Pettis could ever go down like that. We’d seen him lose fights before, most recently to Clay Guida, but he was never beaten so severely. From pillar to post, Pettis was dominated.
Dos Anjos wouldn’t let the champion breathe for more than a few seconds before darting forward with a face-crushing left hand or a soul-crushing takedown. When all was said and all was done, dos Anjos sat atop the cage and pointed toward the stars. It’s safe to say dos Anjos is still a ways away from seeing himself plastered on the cover of a Wheaties box, but knocking off a flurry of challengers certainly wouldn’t hurt his cause.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk
She may not have taken part in the main event. She may not have dominated the most popular fighter on the entire card. She may not have been in the cage for more than two rounds. Even with all that, Joanna Jedrzejczyk is still the biggest star to come out of UFC 185.
She’d already done herself a lot of good after all of the UFC Embedded videos prior to her co-main event. She did what few other non-American fighters have been able to do: She made herself likeable in the eyes of the fans who are seemingly reluctant to accept anybody who doesn’t speak English as their first language (see Jose Aldo and Renan Barao).
And as if her charming ways on the video blogs weren’t enough to give her name some sort of recognition, the belt secured around her waist should fill in the gaps. She is Joanna Champion and, with the right dance partner, she may very well headline her own pay-per-view card before Demetrious Johnson ever does again.
Kristian Ibarra is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report MMA. He also serves as the sports editor at San Diego State University’s student-run newspaper, The Daily Aztec, and a programming intern at Fox Sports San Diego. Follow him on Twitter at @Kristian_Ibarra for all things MMA.
Donald Cerrone isn’t one to sit around and wait for a fight, but a shot at the lightweight title is apparently something he’ll make an exception for.