It appears that Rafael dos
Anjos is headed back to the welterweight division.
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The former lightweight champion, who said that he would look for
fights that motivated him following a loss to Rafael
Fiziev this past July, officially announced his return to 170
pounds in an interview on Brazilian YouTube channel “Canal
Encarada.”
“The UFC offered me two names at lightweight that didn’t make sense
to me, taking into consideration the rankings issue. So I asked
them to drop me from the rankings and decided to go back up to 170
where I can have a healthier life,” dos Anjos said. “Because I
fight well with the big guys.”
During the interview the Brazilian jiu-jitsu blackbelt claimed that
he already had a fight lined up for December, but when pressed said
that he was not yet authorized to reveal the name of his opponent.
However, according to a report from
Combate.com, dos Anjos is expected to face Bryan
Barberena at UFC Fight Night in Orland on Dec. 3.
Dos Anjos began his first stint at welterweight with three
consecutive victories before falling to Colby
Covington in an interim title bout. The 37-year-old Brazilian
returned to 155 pounds after losing four of five, but his hopes of
title contention were dashed in a knockout loss to Fiziev at UFC on
ESPN 39. Dos Anjos owns a 31-14 career mark.
Barberena, 33, is in the middle of a three-bout winning streak at
170 pounds. After outpointing Darian
Weeks late in 2021, “Bam Bam” has earned victories over
veterans Matt Brown
and Robbie
Lawler in 2022.