Tag: RDA

‘Cold-Blooded’ RDA Won’t Let Colby Covington Get Under His Skin

Despite the relentless trash talk towards Brazil, RDA refuses to let Colby Covington get under his skin.

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Colby Covington has really been trying to get under the skin of former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, but RDA is having none of it.

The pair will square off for the 170-pound interim championship in the co-main event of UFC 225 on pay-per-view (PPV) from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois on June 9th. To make things even bigger, the placeholder strap will be on the line – all but guaranteeing the winner a shot at Tyron Woodley.

Covington is notoriously hated throughout the Brazilian mixed martial arts (MMA) community, referring to the country’s people as “filthy animals” at one point. As a result, dos Anjos has been receiving requests on social media from his fellow countrymen and women to punish Covington for his words when they step into the Octagon.

RDA recently addressed these requests at a media luncheon to promote UFC 225 in Los Angeles (quotes via MMA Junkie):

“A lot of Brazilians, everything that I post (on social media), when I meet Brazilians, they all say the same thing: ‘You’ve got to kill this guy. You’ve got to kill this guy,’” dos Anjos said.

“But, you know, I’ve been in this position before. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in the cage in my career. It’s my 38th fight, and that’s a lot of fights. I know what I have to do to win, and I don’t take this as pressure. I have to win for me. I need that. Nobody wants it more than me. That’s why I will win.”

Dos Anjos referred to himself as a “cold-blooded fighter,” who refuses to allow the trash-talk of Covington to manipulate his performance in the cage. The motivation to provide for his family is enough to get the job done come fight night:

“I’m a cold-blooded fighter,” dos Anjos said. “Once I step inside the octagon, there is no trash-talking. Just two guys fighting, clean with rules.

“Of course, it gives me a little extra motivation, but it’s not something I’m going to care about inside the cage. I have a lot of motivation with my kids, with my family. I have to provide for them. I’m a very competitive guy, too. I want to win. It’ll be a good fight.”

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RDA vs. Covington Moved From Brazil To UFC 225 In Chicago

Former lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos will be fighting Colby Covington for the interim welterweight belt in Chicago and not in Brazil as originally thought. Covington has made a name for himself with his sophomoric brand of trash talking, targeting Brazil and Brazilians yet without the subtle charm of Chael Sonnen. Fighters from the country […]

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Former lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos will be fighting Colby Covington for the interim welterweight belt in Chicago and not in Brazil as originally thought.

Covington has made a name for himself with his sophomoric brand of trash talking, targeting Brazil and Brazilians yet without the subtle charm of Chael Sonnen. Fighters from the country lashed out at Covington, and it became abundantly clear that Covington wouldn’t be welcome in Brazil anytime soon:

“I’m the King of Brazil. I owe it to the fans of Brazil to go back there and put on a show for them. Brazil wasn’t ready for me, so Dana had to put it in the U.S.”

Covington will indeed instead fight Dos Anjos in Chicago at UFC 225, where the two will battle it out for the interim welterweight title as Tyron Woodley sits out indefinitely with an injury.

UFC President Dana White explains the necessity of creating an interim title in Woodley’s absence:

“He’s injured. He’s been out for awhile. We’ve been trying to get him to fight. He’s not taking any fights. He sent us a doctor’s note from the best shoulder specialist in the country, who said he’s out til August. We’re not going to be in a position where we jam up a division, so we’re going to do the fight.”

The bout was initially booked for UFC 224 in Rio de Janeiro, but was moved around Thursday. UFC 225 goes down on June 9th.

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RDA vs. Colby Covington Set For Interim Title At UFC 224

Controversial UFC welterweight Colby Covington has been looking for a fight, and former lightweight champion-turned-welterweight contender Rafael Dos Anjos has answered the call. Dos Anjos says he has signed the contract for a fight with Covington at UFC 224, but Covington himself has yet to sign the dotted line: “I was told Woodley was only […]

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Controversial UFC welterweight Colby Covington has been looking for a fight, and former lightweight champion-turned-welterweight contender Rafael Dos Anjos has answered the call.

Dos Anjos says he has signed the contract for a fight with Covington at UFC 224, but Covington himself has yet to sign the dotted line:

“I was told Woodley was only able to fight at the end of the year, I can’t wait that long. I have kids, I need to keep going with my career and Colby Covington is the next guy in line. I have the contract signed on my side, we are just waiting on him.”

RDA is currently 3-0 at welterweight, most recently defeating former divisional champ Robbie Lawler in December.

Maybe the reason Covington hasn’t signed on to fight the Brazilian at UFC 224 is because the event will be held in Brazil, a country that has been the object of Covington’s ire in many an interview. The two are supposed to square off on Friday during a press conference leading into Saturday’s UFC 223 in Brooklyn.

However, that’s all changed. Shortly after dos Anjos said he was still waiting to meet Covington for the interim belt, news arrived from MMA Fighting that the fight was official.

The winner will take on champion Tyron Woodley after UFC 224 takes place on May 12 in Rio de Janeiro.

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Five Biggest Takeaways From UFC on FOX 26

The UFC’s second-ever event in Winnipeg delivered on all fronts, much more so than UFC 161, which was the first card held in the Canadian city. From stunning upset knockouts to barnburners, Saturday night was everything a fight fan could ask for. Lets take a look at what we’re left with on Sunday: 5. Josh Emmett […]

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The UFC’s second-ever event in Winnipeg delivered on all fronts, much more so than UFC 161, which was the first card held in the Canadian city.

From stunning upset knockouts to barnburners, Saturday night was everything a fight fan could ask for.

Lets take a look at what we’re left with on Sunday:

Per Haljestam for USA TODAY Sports

5. Josh Emmett Is A FW Contender – But Can He Make Weight?

Josh Emmett earned a career-defining knockout over perennial featherweight contender Ricardo Lamas in the nights co-main event but failed to make weight in doing so.

What does the UFC do with Emmett? Is it even possible for him to make the featherweight limit? He looked huge in there against Lamas, and although he took the fight on short notice, it may be too soon to crown Emmett as the next big thing at 145 pounds.

Let’s see him make weight at least once before pushing him into title contention. However, if he does make the weight, UFC featherweights have a serious problem on their hands in Emmett. His size, striking, and grappling will absolutely pose issues for the top 145 pounders.

A potential future fight against Jose Aldo or Frankie Edgar will accomplish that, as long as Emmett can make the weight.

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Quote: USADA Changed Everything For RDA

Rafael dos Anjos is all set to make his welterweight debut, and he may already have a fight lined up after his upcoming bout with Tarec Saffiedine passes. ‘RDA’s’ last Octagon appearance saw him suffer a first round knockout loss to Eddie Alvarez in which he dropped his then-lightweight title. The Brazilian later revealed that

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Rafael dos Anjos is all set to make his welterweight debut, and he may already have a fight lined up after his upcoming bout with Tarec Saffiedine passes.

‘RDA’s’ last Octagon appearance saw him suffer a first round knockout loss to Eddie Alvarez in which he dropped his then-lightweight title. The Brazilian later revealed that he planned to move up to the 170-pound weight class, as the cut to 155 pounds lately has been too strenuous.

UFC welterweight Colby Covington had campaigned for some time to welcome dos Anjos to the welterweight division, but he was instead granted a bout with No. 7-ranked Dong Hyun Kim while ‘RDA’ was booked against Saffiedine. Dos Anjos and Covington may not be competing against each other this time around, but they will be on the same card from the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore on June 17th.

During a recent press conference to promote the event in Singapore, Covington spoke on his attempts to welcome dos Anjos to welterweight and noted that he is happy with the fight he wound up getting as it brings him one step closer to the UFC title (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“I got a bigger fight, a better fight,” Covington said. “So, he’s scared. He knows he’s scared, so this is the next best option. A tougher opponent, a guy that’s going to get me closer to the title. I’m the most feared guy in the game right now. I scare the ink out of pens.”

The former lightweight champ got the opportunity to respond to Covington’s claims, and said that he believed ‘Chaos’ was a Bellator fighter when he saw him throwing shots at him on social media, and had no idea who he was:

“I have nothing to say,” dos Anjos said. “I’m a former lightweight champion. I thought this gentleman was a Bellator fighter when he was attacking me on social media. I didn’t know who he was. And I think this kind of new generation of MMA fighters, they’re trying to get attention by talking.”

Covington would interrupt dos Anjos and claim that the Brazilian is just mad because the United States Anti Doping Agency (USADA) changed the game for him:

“USADA changed the game for him,” Covington said.  “So he’s just mad.”

rafael dos anjosDos Anjos then called out the ‘new generation’ for trying to be too much like Conor McGregor and get recognition off of their ability to smack talk on the mic. He prefers to be known for his work inside of the Octagon:

“This new generation is trying,” dos Anjos continued. “I think there’s only one Conor McGregor. You’ve got to be yourself. You can’t try to copy somebody else. Just be yourself.”

“I didn’t even know who this guy (Covington) was before he [started talking trash],” dos Anjos said. “People know who he is because he’s talking trash, and I don’t think that’s the way to get people to know you. I prefer to show my skills in Octagon.”

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RDA vs. Eddie Alvarez Set For UFC Fight Pass In July

UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos has his next fight set. According to UFC Fight Pass’s official Twitter account, dos Anjos will defend his 155-pound crown against #1 lightweight Eddie Alvarez: BREAKING: UFC 155lbs title is on the line ONLY on #UFCFIGHTPASS, Thursday, July 7 @RdosAnjosMMA vs @Ealvarezfight! pic.twitter.com/BwxI5T2vat — UFC Fight Pass (@UFCFightPass) April

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UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos has his next fight set.

According to UFC Fight Pass’s official Twitter account, dos Anjos will defend his 155-pound crown against #1 lightweight Eddie Alvarez:

RDA was originally scheduled to defend his title against Conor McGregor at UFC 196; however, an injury suffered in training camp caused him to pull out of the fight.

Prior to the injury, dos Anjos had separated from the stacked 155-pound field with dominant victories over former champion Anthony Pettis and previously surging Donald Cerrone.

Alvarez comes off of a split decision win over former lightweight champ Anthony Pettis this past January. The title bout is set for UFC fight pass on Thursday July 7th, just two days before UFC 200.

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