Tag: Rafael Dos Anjos

UFC Fight Night 49: Rafael Dos Anjos Can Prove He’s an Elite Lightweight

Rafael dos Anjos returns to action this Saturday in the main event of the UFC’s second card of the day. The Brazilian is 6-1 in his last seven outings and is looking to put his name among the other title hopefuls with a win on Saturday.
UFC Fight Night…

Rafael dos Anjos returns to action this Saturday in the main event of the UFC’s second card of the day. The Brazilian is 6-1 in his last seven outings and is looking to put his name among the other title hopefuls with a win on Saturday.

UFC Fight Night 49 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, plays host to Dos Anjos’ bout against Benson Henderson. Dos Anjos comes in as the No. 5-ranked contender, while Henderson sits atop the contender’s list at No. 1.

A win would do wonders for Dos Anjos.

While he is currently ranked No. 5, you will not find too many people in the world of MMA talking about the Brazilian. Take from that what you will.

Is he just an uninteresting character? Or does nobody truly believe he has what it takes to seriously contend with the best at 155 pounds?

The bottom line is a win over Henderson will have everyone talking.

Aside from last year’s victory over Donald Cerrone, Dos Anjos has failed against the upper echelon of the division throughout his career. His last loss was to Khabib Nurmagomedov in April of this year, and it was not a close fight. Dos Anjos needs this win to show he is deserving of the No. 5 ranking.

One of the reasons Dos Anjos is not on everyone’s mind is his lack of flash. Quite simply put, he is a well-rounded mixed martial artist who does not excite in any one area. Yes, he has a jiu-jitsu black belt and knockout power. However, he is not the exceptional striker that Anthony Pettis is and lacks the exciting jiu-jitsu game that people pay to watch.

Dos Anjos is just plain good—”plain” being the key word.

Plain or not, wins are all that matter. And a win over Henderson would make Dos Anjos a viable title contender for the winner of Gilbert Melendez vs. Anthony Pettis.

Can he get it done? Does it even matter?

Henderson enters as a minus-325 favorite, per Odds Shark. The belief in Dos Anjos is low, but he is good enough in every area to win.

In order to defeat Henderson, he must be on point with his striking and takedown defense. Henderson is a capable striker with a variety of unique attacks. He even throws punches to the thigh. But his bread and butter is a strong wrestling game.

Dos Anjos cannot allow Henderson to dictate this fight. The Brazilian will need to throw caution to the wind at some point during the contest. While his back is not pressed against the wall, this is his shot to make a name for himself in the lightweight division.

The time is now.

Truthfully, a competitive fight with Henderson should be enough to prove he is among the elite. If he can battle with Henderson in a close encounter, there should be no doubt as to where he stands in the division. The former UFC lightweight champion is as good as they come.

However, Dos Anjos will want to be more than just competitive.

This is his chance.

Dos Anjos has worked his way up the ladder to get to No. 5 in the division, but few truly see him as elite. His performance on Saturday will answer that claim once and for all—win or lose.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov: Alcohol and Women ‘Spoil’ Fighters and Make Them ‘Weak’

UFC lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov has an old-school approach when it comes to fighting: Alcohol and women are a no-no if you want to be the best in the world.
Speaking with Russian media outlet ProSports.ru, (translated by MixedMartial…

UFC lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov has an old-school approach when it comes to fighting: Alcohol and women are a no-no if you want to be the best in the world.

Speaking with Russian media outlet ProSports.ru, (translated by MixedMartialArts.com), “The Eagle” explained why he has sworn off grabbing a drink or having an impromptu date with a female fan on the weekends. 

There are fighters in America who can drink on Friday and Saturday. After an event I saw it myself in the hotel – 80% of them are already drunk. Not the champs but middle-of-the-pack guys, guys like one win, two losses. A couple of times they called me with them to the club. I told them I’m a Muslim. And they were like ‘Come on, we know two Muslims and they visit the clubs with us all the time!’ … Alcohol and girls stand in a way of an athlete, they spoil him and make him weak.

While some may say that the 25-year-old’s point of view is outdated, it’s flat-out impossible to argue with the results. 

Nurmagomedov, the No. 3 lightweight in the world, according to the UFC’s official rankings, is 22-0 as a professional mixed martial artist—including a 6-0 run inside the Octagon. 

Many agree that his recent convincing win over perennial contender Rafael dos Anjos at UFC on FOX 11 in April proved he’s ready for the big time. 

The American Kickboxing Academy standout was briefly linked to what would’ve likely been a title eliminator bout with WEC import Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 178 but had to withdraw almost immediately due to a knee injury, per MMA Fighting. 

His co-manager, Mike Constantino, later confirmed that Nurmagomedov tore his right meniscus and would therefore be on the sidelines for at least six months, per MMA Junkie. 

Up to this point, Nurmagomedov is yet to meet an opponent who has an answer for his takedowns and smothering top game. Plus, his striking chops continue to improve. 

Should other fighters start following Nurmagomedov‘s lead and leave the partying lifestyle behind completely, or is this training theory simply not necessary in this day and age?

 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

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Ben Henderson vs. Rafael dos Anjos: Why It Makes Sense

It was recently announced that Benson Henderson and Rafael dos Anjos will go head-to-head at a UFC Fight Night event in Tulsa, Oklahoma on August 23.
At first glance, it seems like an odd matchup to make.
Henderson asserted himself as the best lightw…

It was recently announced that Benson Henderson and Rafael dos Anjos will go head-to-head at a UFC Fight Night event in Tulsa, Oklahoma on August 23.

At first glance, it seems like an odd matchup to make.

Henderson asserted himself as the best lightweight in the UFC not named Anthony Pettis when he submitted Rustam Khabilov earlier this month. Dos Anjos, on the other hand, beat Jason High (who was making his lightweight debut) at the same event and was convincingly beaten by Khabib Nurmagomedov in his last fight before the High bout.

It raises the question: Why didn’t the UFC brass book a Henderson vs. Nurmagomedov bout instead?

One reason is that the undefeated Russian is a devout Muslim who will fast during the month of Ramadan, which takes place between late June and late July.

Nurmagomedov has said that he wants a fight in early September, five weeks after the holy month. However, if he does fight at that time it will likely not be against the No. 1 contender.

With that out of the way, a fight between Bendo and Dos Anjos is the best non-title matchup that can be made at 155 pounds when taking rankings and resumes into account.

Putting the loss to Nurmagomedov aside, Dos Anjos has proven himself to be one of the top lightweights in the UFC. The Brazilian has won six of his last seven fights in the Octagon, with Donald Cerrone, Evan Dunham and Mark Bocek among his victims.

That has put Dos Anjos at fifth spot on the UFC’s official lightweight rankings. Nurmagomedov is one place ahead of him in fourth spot, while Josh Thomson—who is scheduled to fight Michael Johnson—is in third. Pettis’s next challenger, Gilbert Melendez is No. 2 on the list, with Bendo at No. 1.

A main event fight against a top contender like Henderson may also be a reward from the UFC for being the only fighter to step up against Nurmagomedov.

UFC President Dana White said in January that he had struggled to find fighters willing to fight the 22-0 lightweight after some fighters, including Nate Diaz, were said to have declined offers to face him.

Dos Anjos stepped up to the plate, however.             

He was set to fight Rustam Khabilov at UFC 170, but the bout was ultimately scrapped in order for Dos Anjos to fight Nurmagomedov at UFC on Fox: Werdum vs. Browne.

That fight may not have gone Dos Anjos’ way, but he now has a chance to redeem himself against another, more established, top lightweight in Benson Henderson.

It’s not a lose-lose situation for Henderson, though. Unlike Khabilov, Dos Anjos is a proven top-five fighter in the UFC, and a Henderson victory would mean that he will have wins over five of the other six fighters in the top seven.

While it would still be hard to sell a third fight against Pettis (who beat Henderson in both of their previous bouts), the UFC brass may have no other choice if both fighters win their next contests.

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Booking Roundup: Gegard Mousasi to Rematch “Jacare” Souza at UFC 176, Ben Henderson Gets Rafael Dos Anjos + More

(Mousasi vs. Souza 1, Dream 6 Middleweight Grand Prix Finals, 2008) 

Fresh off an absolute tooling of Mark Munoz in their headlining bout at Fight Night 41, it has been announced that Gegard Mousasi will once again face fellow top contender Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. The matchup will serve as the co-main event of UFC 176: Aldo vs. Mendes II on August 2nd, which should come as a sigh of relief to Los Angeles-based MMA fans who had purchased tickets to the event only to find that Bethe Correia vs. Shayna Baszler had previously held that distinction.

Souza, on the other hand, recently picked up his third straight UFC win (and sixth in a row overall) over Francis Carmont at Fight Night 36. We highly doubt he’ll be lacking motivation heading into his rematch with Mousasi, who ended his night with an upkick KO when they previously met in the Dream middleweight finals back in 2008. Ah, Dream, how we have forgotten you so.

But Mousasi vs. Souza II isn’t the only big fight to be booked today, not by a long shot…


(Mousasi vs. Souza 1, Dream 6 Middleweight Grand Prix Finals, 2008) 

Fresh off an absolute tooling of Mark Munoz in their headlining bout at Fight Night 41, it has been announced that Gegard Mousasi will once again face fellow top contender Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. The matchup will serve as the co-main event of UFC 176: Aldo vs. Mendes II on August 2nd, which should come as a sigh of relief to Los Angeles-based MMA fans who had purchased tickets to the event only to find that Bethe Correia vs. Shayna Baszler had previously held that distinction.

Souza, on the other hand, recently picked up his third straight UFC win (and sixth in a row overall) over Francis Carmont at Fight Night 36. We highly doubt he’ll be lacking motivation heading into his rematch with Mousasi, who ended his night with an upkick KO when they previously met in the Dream middleweight finals back in 2008. Ah, Dream, how we have forgotten you so.

But Mousasi vs. Souza II isn’t the only big fight to be booked today, not by a long shot…

According to BloodyElbow, Fight Night 42 victors Ben Henderson and Rafael Dos Anjos have also agreed to meet in the main event of Fight Night Tulsa, which will be transpiring on August 23rd, a.k.a the same day as Fight Night: Bisping vs. Le in Macau. Way to optimize viewership, UFC!

As I mentioned, both Henderson and Dos Anjos picked up stoppage wins at Fight Night 42, the former by 4th round submission over Rustam Khabilov and the latter by second round TKO of the now-fired Jason High. The fight will serve as both Dos Anjos’ first main event and first five round contest, which is quite an accomplishment for a guy best known as the victim of Jeremy Stephens’ uppercut from Hell for a large part of his UFC career.

Another pivotal lightweight matchup announced earlier today is that of Joe Lauzon vs. Michael Chiesa. Things have been up-and-down for Lauzon both professionally and personally as of late; the TUF 5 alum bounced back from the first two fight skid of his career to trounce Mac Danzig at UFC on FOX 9 and recently saw his newborn son diagnosed with cancer only to kick its ass at just two months of age. Take *that* cancer, ya dick!

I guess I should mention that Chiesa has scored back-to-back wins over Colton Smith and Francisco Trinaldo at Fight for the Troops 3 and UFC 173, respectively. So there’s that.

Finally, a light heavyweight contest between Ryan Bader and Ovince St. Preux as the main event of a Fight Night event in Bangor, Maine on August 16th. The announcement was made by Bader himself on Twitter just moments ago. Similar to the Henderson/Dos Anjos booking, both Bader and OSP picked up decisive victories at UFC 174 last weekend over Rafael Cavalcante and Ryan Jimmo, respectively, and all but agreed to fight one another when some media mark tried to play matchmaker in the evening’s post-fight press conference. Hooray for that guy!

My prediction: OethhP by Submithhion. (I’m sorry, that was a low blow.)

–J. Jones

UFC Fight Night 42: 5 Potential Opponents for Benson Henderson

UFC Fight Night 42 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was a big night for Benson Henderson, as the former lightweight champion scored his first stoppage victory inside the Octagon. His fourth-round rear-naked choke of Rustam Khabilov showed us that Henderson …

UFC Fight Night 42 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was a big night for Benson Henderson, as the former lightweight champion scored his first stoppage victory inside the Octagon. His fourth-round rear-naked choke of Rustam Khabilov showed us that Henderson is capable of more than simply doing enough to earn a decision, cementing his spot at No. 1 in the UFC’s rankings.

Is Henderson evolving into a full-blown finisher? That much remains to be seen. While we don’t know whom he’ll face in his next outing, we know it won’t be Anthony Pettis, who is currently gearing up to coach the 20th season of The Ultimate Fighter opposite Gilbert Melendez.

The two opposing coaches will face off for the lightweight title at the end of the year, leaving Henderson to continue his uphill march back to contention. With most of the lightweight heap already booked in upcoming fights, who should be next for Henderson?

Should he wait for the winner of one of the highly anticipated lightweight scraps taking place over the next two months? Or should he take on someone who doesn’t currently have a dance partner?

Should he take on someone down the ladder a bit, such as Joe Lauzon or Myles Jury? Or should he go toe-to-toe with Khabib Nurmagomedov or Rafael dos Anjos?

Let’s take a look at five options for Henderson’s next opponent.

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Jason High Apologizes for Ref-Shoving Incident, May Face Disciplinary Action


(“Wow, those feel *incredibly* real.” Photo via Getty)

Following his second round TKO loss to Rafael Dos Anjos at Fight Night 42 last Saturday, Jason High was understandably frustrated. The loss dropped his UFC record to below .500, came in his lightweight debut, and snapped the first two-fight win streak of his promotional career in the process. That it came via a stoppage that some (Michael Bisping included) viewed as premature, and at the judgement of a ref who has been shaky at best in recent months, only further demonstrates where his head might’ve been in the heat of the moment.

In any case, “The Kansas City Bandit” crossed the line when he proceeded to shove referee Kevin Mulhall in the moments after the fight had been waved off, and is now facing potential disciplinary action for doing so.

A GIF of the shove and the full story is after the jump. 


(“Wow, those feel *incredibly* real.” Photo via Getty)

Following his second round TKO loss to Rafael Dos Anjos at Fight Night 42 last Saturday, Jason High was understandably frustrated. The loss dropped his UFC record to below .500, came in his lightweight debut, and snapped the first two-fight win streak of his promotional career in the process. That it came via a stoppage that some (Michael Bisping included) viewed as premature, and at the judgement of a ref who has been shaky at best in recent months, only further demonstrates where his head might’ve been in the heat of the moment.

In any case, “The Kansas City Bandit” crossed the line when he proceeded to shove referee Kevin Mulhall in the moments after the fight had been waved off, and is now facing potential disciplinary action for doing so.


High later apologized for his error of judgment on Twitter, but according UFC Senior Director of Public Relations Dave Sholler at the evening’s post-fight press conference, he isn’t out of the woods yet:

On behalf of the organization, completely unacceptable. You can’t put your hands on the official. In the heat of the moment, a lot of things can happen, but you can’t put your hands on an official.

We’ll regroup on Monday with the (UFC) executive team and we’ll figure out if there’s any other things that need to happen. But ultimately, from a decision-making standpoint, from fines and suspensions, that’s up to commissioner [Thomas] King.

Translation: Matt Hughes ’bout to drop the hammer, son.

A fun fact I learned while reading up on High’s altercation was that in 2010, Keith Jardine apparently received an indefinite suspension from the Texas Athletic Commission when he shoved a ref following his split decision loss to Trevor Prangley at Shark Fights 13. While I can’t imagine that High will face such a suspension, he could easily see himself ousted from the UFC for a breach of the UFC’s Fighter Conduct Policy. So…Daley vs. High, anyone?

Although he has yet to comment on the situation, I imagine Dana White’s reaction will be something along the lines of “Why couldn’t it have been Mazzagatti and why couldn’t it have been a sleeper hold?”

–J. Jones