Rafael dos Anjos changed the course of his main event title-fight showdown at UFC 185 in Dallas against Anthony Pettis with a single punch.
A straight left from dos Anjos shattered Pettis’ orbital bone early in Round 1, effectively blinding the f…
Rafael dos Anjos changed the course of his main event title-fight showdown at UFC 185 in Dallas against Anthony Pettis with a single punch.
A straight left from dos Anjos shattered Pettis’ orbital bone early in Round 1, effectively blinding the former lightweight champion for the bout’s duration.
According to a recent report from MMA Fighting’s Chuck Mindenhall, that punch was every bit as vicious as it looked from the outside, as Pettis will need six weeks to heal.
UFC Tonight reported that Pettis was required to stay in Dallas until Tuesday as a precautionary measure for the broken orbital and will need a follow-up consultation once he touches down in his home base of Milwaukee.
The newly minted 155-pound champion, dos Anjos, will need some rest and recovery, too.
Dos Anjos’ manager, Ali Abdelaziz, told UFC Tonight’s Ariel Helwani that his fighter suffered a partially torn medial collateral ligament (MCL) about three weeks out from the fight (h/t Fox Sports’ Damon Martin).
While dos Anjos will not need surgery on his knee, he will need three months of rehabilitation to reach full strength.
He was not so lucky where a second injury was concerned. According to a report on UFC Tonight, dos Anjos will need to go under the knife to correct another injury he suffered in training camp. Abdelaziz told Helwani the right side of dos Anjos’ nose is completely shut, while the left side is approximately 70 percent open.
He escaped without surgery for his knee, but he will undergo surgery to correct this issue. A timetable for his recovery and UFC return is not yet known.
These two injuries make dos Anjos’ upset victory over Pettis all the more remarkable. His cardio never slowed despite breathing difficulties, and his takedowns were powerful despite a lingering knee issue.
Stay tuned to Bleacher Report as the situation continues to develop.
Another month, another UFC pay per view in the books. Saturday’s UFC 185 was historic for several reasons, but the most important takeaway? In an era where championships don’t trade hands all that often, UFC 185 saw the crowning of two new champs. …
Another month, another UFC pay per view in the books. Saturday’s UFC 185 was historic for several reasons, but the most important takeaway? In an era where championships don’t trade hands all that often, UFC 185 saw the crowning of two new champs.
Let’s take a took at what we loved, learned and hated from the Dallas fight card.
LOVED: JOANNA CHAMPION
When 16 female strawweights entered the Ultimate Fighter house last year, they went with the pressure of trying to live up to the standards set by Ronda Rousey. Such is the nature of Rousey’s personality, and such is her meaning to other women participating in combat sports, that an entire new division of fighters were constantly asked if they had what it took to be the next Rousey. Dana White publicly hinted that the house might contain the next Rousey, because being the next Rousey meant being the UFC’s next big star and an anchor for a division.
As it turns out, strawweight’s potential biggest star wasn’t in the TUF house at all.
New UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk brutalized Carla Esparza, the survivor of that aforementioned Ultimate Fighter house, to wrest control of the UFC’s newest championship and take it back to Poland. The manner in which Jedrzejczyk did so was so complete and breathtaking that she left Esparza looking inept. Esparza is a very good wrestler; Jedrzejczyk stopped 16 of her 17 takedown attempts in one and a half rounds.
And once Esparza realized the takedowns weren’t going to be there, and when she stopped desperately flinging herself forward and grasping at Jedrzejczyk’s ankles or knees or anything else she could get her hands on, it was clear that the fight wouldn’t last long. For Jedrzejczyk is a brutal striker, perhaps even one of the UFC’s best, and there was nary a chance that Esparza would be able to survive on the feet. She did not.
In Jedrzejczyk, the UFC has a champion who is marketable, self-assured, funny and violent. That’s a great combination. And if you consider that Esparza, the best wrestler in the division, could not get her to the ground, it is tough to imagine any other female currently in the division doing so. Which means Jedrzejczyk might be Joanna Champion for a very long time.
LEARNED: PETTIS IS NOT GOOD WITH PRESSURE
Anthony Pettis has always been about timing and counterstriking. And he’s quite good at it. But what he’s not good at is having something constantly in his face.
From the opening bell on Saturday night, Rafael dos Anjos was in Pettis’ face, barely giving the now-former champion a chance to breathe, much less compose himself. In doing so, Dos Anjos became the lightweight champion, but he also uncovered a gaping hole in Pettis’ game. Pettis simply had no answer for the pace or the pressure Dos Anjos presented.
There’s a blueprint to beat Pettis. Unless he shores up that weakness in his game, Pettis will have a tough time beating Dos Anjos in a rematch, and it is hard to imagine he would fare any better against someone like Khabib Nurmagomedov. That is assuming, of course, that Pettis does not immediately go back to the gym and fix his weakness. Which he will, because he is a world-class fighter, and that is what world class fighters do.
HATED: SOCIAL MEDIA REACTION TO MAIN EVENT
But you know what is not world class? Twitter on fight nights.
I mean, look: I enjoy social media a lot. I have a great time interacting with readers and other fans of the sport. But Saturday night illustrated how wrong-headed and dumb a lot of folks on Twitter can be.
Before Pettis vs. Dos Anjos was over, reaction to the fight ranged from “Pettis was illegally poked in the eye and that caused him to lose the rest of the rounds” all the way to accusations of dubious behavior by Dos Anjos. I’m not even going to lend credence to these crap theories by linking to them.
But what I will say is this: you don’t have to be negative about everything, and you don’t have to make excuses for your favorite fighter. Sometimes people lose because they were beaten, and usually it’s that simple.
It seems that more often than not these days, the UFC likes to sell us on the invincibility of its champions. “Anderson Silva is the G.O.A.T.” “Renan Barao is one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC right now, if not the greatest.” “Jose Aldo had sex with my blind wife last night and now she can see!” I’m paraphrasing here, but you get the point.
That’s not meant as a knock on the promotion, mind you. I mean, you tell me how else you’re going to market a humble, softly-spoken foreigner who knows maybe a dozen words in English, if not based on his skills in the cage? This is the fight game after all, and Conor McGregor would still be collecting welfare checks if he didn’t possess the actual skill to back up his mouth. Yet time and time again, it seems that the UFC’s go-to strategy for hyping a fighter becomes akin to placing a hex on them. And when/if the champion in question does lose, it isn’t long before the conversation shifts to “Anderson Silva is a roidhead.” “Renan Barao is going to get smoked in the rematch.” “Jose Aldo is only keeping Conor McGregor’s seat warm.”
To be perfectly clear, this isn’t how I feel the UFC was marketing Anthony Pettis heading into his UFC 185 title fight with Rafael Dos Anjos. The promotion was marketing him on his skillset, sure, which again — how could you not when his highlight reel includes a flying off-the-cage ninja kick? I’m saying that this is how the MMA media seemed to be billing Pettis in the weeks leading up to last Saturday. Blame it on the stupidity and/or rampant fanboyism that affects even the unbiased (and more importantly, credentialed) members, blame it on whatever you want, but there was an air of invincibility surrounding Pettis. We were like a deer caught in the headlights of “Showtime’s” greatness, so much so that we barely even took the time to notice that Dos Anjos was there.
(Photo via Getty)
It seems that more often than not these days, the UFC likes to sell us on the invincibility of its champions. “Anderson Silva is the G.O.A.T.” “Renan Barao is one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC right now, if not the greatest.” “Jose Aldo had sex with my blind wife last night and now she can see!” I’m paraphrasing here, but you get the point.
That’s not meant as a knock on the promotion, mind you. I mean, you tell me how else you’re going to market a humble, softly-spoken foreigner who knows maybe a dozen words in English, if not based on his skills in the cage? This is the fight game after all, and Conor McGregor would still be collecting welfare checks if he didn’t possess the actual skill to back up his mouth. Yet time and time again, it seems that the UFC’s go-to strategy for hyping a fighter becomes akin to placing a hex on them. And when/if the champion in question does lose, it isn’t long before the conversation shifts to “Anderson Silva is a roidhead.” “Renan Barao is going to get smoked in the rematch.” “Jose Aldo is only keeping Conor McGregor’s seat warm.”
To be perfectly clear, this isn’t how I feel the UFC was marketing Anthony Pettis heading into his UFC 185 title fight with Rafael Dos Anjos. The promotion was marketing him on his skillset, sure, which again — how could you not when his highlight reel includes a flying off-the-cage ninja kick? I’m saying that this is how the MMA media seemed to be billing Pettis in the weeks leading up to last Saturday. Blame it on the stupidity and/or rampant fanboyism that affects even the unbiased (and more importantly, credentialed) members, blame it on whatever you want, but there was an air of invincibility surrounding Pettis. We were like a deer caught in the headlights of “Showtime’s” greatness, so much so that we barely even took the time to notice that Dos Anjos was there.
Again, this is not a dig, but rather an observation. I sure as hell didn’t give Dos Anjos much of a chance despite his insanely impressive credentials in recent years, and was already salivating at the idea of watching Pettis face his first true test as champion in Khabib Nurmagomedov, once the latter beat Donald Cerrone (which now that I think about it, likely just condemned Nurmy to a loss).
The point is, us MMA fans — from the most casual observers right up to the credentialed media members — like to get a few steps ahead of ourselves when it comes to the cream of the crop. We see a couple flashy finishes over legitimate competition and we suddenly start hyping up “superfights” and dream/freak show matches that are light years away from materializing, then devoting countless articles to them as if they’ve been already booked. Do you guys realize that “we’ve” spent the past two weeks talking about the prospect of Ronda Rousey vs. a man and/or Laila Al? (*shudders*)
And the MMA Gods, well, they find our hubris disconcerting. Disturbing even. Which is why every now and again, they throw a Dos Anjos into the gears. “This is what you get,” they bellow from on high, “This is what you get for trying to book Pettis vs. Aldo.”
And that’s exactly what happened last weekend. For five unbelievable, grueling rounds, the guy best known for being on the wrong end of a Jeremy Stephens uppercut in his UFC debut handed a dynamic, unstoppable champion the ass-whooping of a lifetime. To call it shocking would be a woeful undersell. Rafael Dos Anjos torched Anthony Pettis. We were ready to believe that the guy who got wrestlefucked by Clay Guida in 2011 had developed +1000 takedown defense mana in the years since, and oh how we were wrong. Even more bewildering than Dos Anjos’ complete domination in the grappling department was his dismantling of Pettis, a taekwondo master with the dexterity of a Cirque Du Soleil performer, in the striking department, which saw the then-champion’s eye swollen shut by the start of the championship rounds.
Pettis fought his heart out on Saturday, but he still came up short against a guy who started off his UFC career two in the hole. And with his loss, we are once again reminded that no one in the UFC is unbeatable (except for Jon Jones) (and Ronda Rousey). The king is dead, long live the king.
Speaking of unbeatable, time will only tell how long it takes for us to bestow that status on Joanna Jedrzejczyk, who came out like a woman possessed against Carla Esparza. Anyone who had seen the Embedded series knew that the Polish muay-Thai champion had managed to get inside her cookie-loving opponent’s head, but the extent to which she had wasn’t made obvious until Esparza entered the arena. Despite having Metallica’s “Harvester of Sorrow” blaring in the background, Esparza looked like anything but a woman ready for a fight. She looked extremely nervous. Checked out. Dare I say it, scared.
Her nervousness was apparent in every second she was in the fight. Esparza’s “underrated” striking — as it was being billed — was non-existent. Overwhelmed from the get-go by Jedrzejczyk’s prowess on the feet, the TUF 20 winner repeatedly dove in on sloppy and telegraphed single leg attempts with zero setup whatsoever. She was a sitting duck, and Jedrzejczyk wasted no time taking advantage of it. The second round TKO win for Jedrzejczyk capped off a flawless performance, and a credit is also due to referee Don Turnage for the most merciful title fight stoppage since Silva vs. Franklin.
What else did we learn at UFC 185? Well, that Johny Hendricks sure can wrassle, which was already a bit of a given. Struggling to deal with the constant forward attack of Matt Brown early, Hendricks slowed things down with his repeated takedowns and G-n-P, then busted up a tiring Brown on the feet in the latter rounds for good measure. It wasn’t the most exciting performance (and one that Hendricks was highly critical of himself), but the former champ looked well on his way to a trilogy fight with Robbie Lawler.
And finally, I’d like to pour one out for poor, poor Chris Cariaso. The guy is about as forgettable as they come in terms of both personality and skillset, and has absolutely been mauled in his past two fights. No wonder he was hoping Henry Cejudo missed weight.
Full results for UFC 185 are below.
Rafael dos Anjos def. Anthony Pettis by unanimous decision
Joanna Jedrzejczyk def. Carla Esparza by TKO, round 2
Johny Hendricks def. Matt Brown by unanimous decision
Alistair Overeem def. Roy Nelson by unanimous decision
Henry Cejudo def. Chris Cariaso by unanimous decision
Ross Pearson def. Sam Stout by KO, round 2
Elias Theodorou def. Roger Narvaez by TKO, round 2
Beneil Dariush def. Daron Cruickshank by submission, round 2
Jared Rosholt def. Josh Copeland by TKO, round 3
Ryan Benoit def. Sergio Pettis by TKO, round 2
Joseph Duffy def. Jake Lindsey by TKO, round 1
Germaine de Randamie def. Larissa Pacheco by TKO, round 2
Khabib Nurmagomedov should change his name to Nostradamus after prophesying that Rafael dos Anjos would wipe the floor with UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis at UFC 185.
“I think [Dos Anjos] smashes [Pettis] in striking, and I think he smas…
Khabib Nurmagomedov should change his name to Nostradamus after prophesying that Rafael dos Anjos would wipe the floor with UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis at UFC 185.
“I think [Dos Anjos] smashes [Pettis] in striking, and I think he smashes him on the ground,” Nurmagomedov said in an interview with Marc Raimondi of MMAFighting.com.
Before Saturday night, when Dos Anjos defeated Pettis by unanimous decision, those comments were seen as absurd to the highest levels. “Showtime” Pettis, Mr. Wheaties himself, had lived his career inside the Matrix, pulling off maneuvers that would make Morpheus reexamine his idea of “The One.”
People were already talking about superfights with Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor, despite Pettis only having one successful UFC title defense on his resume. That’s how good this guy is.
Yet Dos Anjos, the most unlikely of contenders, would be the one to unravel everything, reminding MMA fans that paper-laden predictions would be better used as toilet paper.
Just as Nurmagomedov predicted, Dos Anjos smashed Pettis in the stand-up and on the ground in Saturday’s main event. In hindsight, the bout was so lopsided that it’s hard to even consider it an upset.
Perhaps the only thing upsetting was the fact that nearly everyone overlooked Dos Anjos, even those giving him a slight chance to pull off the unthinkable. Very few saw that kind of performance coming.
After the fight, Nurmagomedov took some time to gloat over his prediction on Twitter:
Nurmagomedov defeated Dos Anjos by unanimous decision nearly a year ago at UFC on Fox 11. He is expected to fight Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in May to determine the next contender for the UFC title.
The future title picture hinges on the health of Dos Anjos, who admitted to fighting on a torn MCL during the UFC 185 post-fight press conference.
JordyMcElroy is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon and FanRag Sports.
Rafael dos Anjos walked out of UFC 185 with the lightweight title around his waist. He defeated a man who was in the process of emerging as a future star within the sport. Not only did he snatch the belt from around Pettis’ waist, but he also den…
Rafael dos Anjos walked out of UFC 185 with the lightweight title around his waist. He defeated a man who was in the process of emerging as a future star within the sport. Not only did he snatch the belt from around Pettis’ waist, but he also denied the UFC a chance to develop another cross over star. The organization was banking on pushing “Showtime” to the masses, and dos Anjos completely ruined that moment.
For five rounds, dos Anjos dominated Pettis in a way that was widely unexpected. Many MMA media experts were picking Pettis to win the fight. Those that didn’t immediately took to Twitter to illicit their excitement in picking the underdog in this fight.
That excitement for being “right” shows how important Pettis was becoming leading into the UFC 185 main event. In December, MMA Fighting chronicled the fact that Pettis is the first MMA athlete to be featured on a Wheaties box. With the highlight reel finishes that Pettis was amassing, it was clear to many people that he was growing into a star that could cross over to other aspects of the entertainment world.
Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports recently wrote a piece about ‘Showtime’ and his growth that brought out an interesting reference to thoughts from UFC President Dana White.
“UFC President Dana White said he believes Pettis is the most talented fighter in the sport,” Iolewrote. “If White has anything to say about it, Pettis will soon become a household name.”
Unfortunately for White’s prediction, Rafael dos Anjos used his time in the limelight to ruin that moment. The win came in such a way that will surely slow any rise to fame that Pettis was expected to enjoy.
This doesn’t mean that Pettis cannot rebuild himself into a superstar in the sport. The 28-year old fighter still boasts an 18-3 record and should be considered one of the best lightweights in the sport. Injuries have hampered much of his career, but he knows that staying active can remove that perception.
“Basically, I have to go out there every couple of months and keep fighting the top guys and winning the fights the way I have been and you’ll see my star power go up,” Pettis said in Iole’s Yahoo Sports piece.
It will be interesting to see what happens next now that ‘Showtime’ is no longer the champion. There are a number of viable fights for him within the lightweight division. If he can dispatch of multiple foes while adding to his list of spectacular finishes, the UFC will find a way to market him into a star. Still, Rafael dos Anjos completely derailed his momentum. Pettis may have the look and style to become a crossover star for mixed martial arts, but fans, the promotion and the fighter alike will have to wait for that moment to occur.
Rafael dos Anjos is the UFC lightweight champion.
If that’s a phrase you never thought you’d hear, you aren’t alone. The Brazilian entered his bout with Anthony Pettis at UFC 185 as more than a 4-1 underdog by fight time, according to BestFightOd…
Rafael dos Anjos is the UFC lightweight champion.
If that’s a phrase you never thought you’d hear, you aren’t alone. The Brazilian entered his bout with Anthony Pettis at UFC 185 as more than a 4-1 underdog by fight time, according to BestFightOdds.com. But that’s the world we now live in.
Despite all of the pre-fight hype pointing to a coronation of Pettis as the world’s best lightweight, Dos Anjos charged forward and owned the fight for all five rounds. It was a runaway showcase of both his stand-up and grappling skills.
Here’s a look at some key takeaways from each fighter’s performance and what lies ahead for both men.
Takedowns Can Still Be a Problem for Pettis
Pettis has plenty of strengths that made him a UFC champion. Few can match his creativity or unpredictability as a striker. His submission game is equally unpredictable and explosive.
But a glaring weakness that has reared its ugly head before is takedown defense. Clay Guida took Showtime down five times en route to one of his three career losses. Gilbert Melendez also scored a takedown in a fight that Pettis ultimately won by submission, and Jeremy Stephens took him down three times.
Granted, the Guida and Stephens fights took place in 2011. That’s four years ago now. There’s no denying that Pettis has evolved. But much of that evolution came in the form of a dangerous submission game that gave him the belt against Benson Henderson and his first title defense against Melendez.
The issue with employing that strategy against Dos Anjos was that the Brazilian’s brand of grappling wasn’t going to allow him to be submitted. The jiu-jitsu practitioner was great at suffocating Pettis without opening himself up to any submissions.
In all, Dos Anjos brought Pettis down nine times in the five-round fight. That’s a serious concern that Pettis will need to address in his next fight camp. It’s an area that other opponents will undoubtedly test when given the opportunity.
What’s Next for Pettis?
Just who will be that next opponent to test Pettis’ takedown defense is unknown at this point. According to MMAFighting.com, Dana White has already nixed any notion of an immediate rematch:
That’s fair. Pettis hasn’t held the belt long enough to be granted an immediate rematch after losing a one-sided affair. He needs the opportunity to go back to the drawing board and improve in certain areas before attempting to reclaim the title.
Should Khabib Nurmagomedov lose to Donald Cerrone in their upcoming bout, the Russian wrestler would make sense. He could definitely test whether Pettis’ takedown defense is up to snuff. However, if Cerrone loses, it might make more sense for the former champion to see another lightweight who is recently coming off a tough loss, such as Edson Barboza.
Dos Anjos Is More than a Grappler
Don’t let the fact that Dos Anjos scored nine takedowns fool you; this was as complete a performance as you’ll see in the Octagon. The Brazilian was confident and aggressive on the feet as well. As Duane Finley of Bleacher Report noted, everything came from Dos Anjos’ surprisingly effective striking on the feet first:
This win in a vacuum was impressive. Dos Anjos controlled the bout no matter where it went. However, taken in the context of RDA’s entire career, it’s even more inspiring.
As Mike Bohn of MMAJunkie points out, Dos Anjos became the fighter with the most fights before winning his first belt in the UFC:
That’s an odd distinction, but it says one thing: After 18 fights in the UFC, Dos Anjos is still evolving and developing. That kind of dedication to the craft will make him a dangerous champion.
Many will point to his loss to Nurmagomedov as a reason that his title reign will be cut short. The Russian is one win away from challenging RDA in a rematch. However, there’s no telling just how improved the new champion is from that fight back in April 2014.
What’s Next for Dos Anjos?
Likely Nurmagomedov. His fight with Cerrone almost certainly determines the No. 1 contender barring a serious injury, and it’s a fight that people will want to see.
But whether Dos Anjos wins his rematch with the man who beat him just less than a year ago is almost irrelevant at this point.
It isn’t often that an underrated challenger comes in and owns the Octagon against a champion. But when it does, it’s always memorable. Like T.J. Dillashaw and Frankie Edgar before him, Dos Anjos now has a legacy that will always be defined by shocking the world and taking the title.
Rafael dos Anjos changed the course of his main event title-fight showdown at UFC 185 in Dallas against Anthony Pettis with a single punch. 
