Rafael dos Anjos

Rafael Souza dos Anjos (born October 26, 1984) is a Brazilian and American professional mixed martial artist.

He currently competes in the Welterweight and Lightweight divisions in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

A professional competitor since 2004, he is a former UFC Lightweight Champion.

As of December 5, 2023, he is #11 in the UFC lightweight rankings.

dos Anjos was scheduled to fight Matt Wiman on September 19, 2009, at UFC 103, but due to a knee injury suffered by Wiman, he instead faced Rob Emerson.

dos Anjos got a much-needed win by unanimous decision.

dos Anjos then defeated Kyle Bradley via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 20.

At UFC 112, dos Anjos defeated Terry Etim via second round armbar submission, earning him Submission of the Night honors.

dos Anjos faced Clay Guida on August 7, 2010, at UFC 117.

Guida appeared to injure the jaw of dos Anjos in the first round with a hook and would go on to defeat dos Anjos by submission (jaw injury) after dos Anjos tapped from the pressure being applied to his jaw while Guida had arm-and-head control.

dos Anjos next faced George Sotiropoulos on July 2, 2011, at UFC 132 after replacing an injured Evan Dunham.

Dos Anjos showcased his vastly improved striking skills, knocking out Sotiropoulos cold in the first round with a right hand.

dos Anjos faced Gleison Tibau on November 19, 2011, at UFC 139.

He lost the fight via split decision.

dos Anjos faced Kamal Shalorus on May 15, 2012, at UFC on Fuel TV: The Korean Zombie vs. Poirier.

After dropping Shalorus with a head kick, dos Anjos submitted him via rear-naked choke in the first round.

After taking virtually no damage in the fight against Shalorus, dos Anjos quickly returned to face Anthony Njokuani on July 11, 2012, at UFC on Fuel TV: Munoz vs. Weidman, replacing an injured Paul Taylor.

He won the fight via unanimous decision, dominating Njokuani both in striking and grappling.

dos Anjos faced Mark Bocek on November 17, 2012, at UFC 154.

He won the fight via unanimous decision, once again having the edge in both standup and ground fighting.

dos Anjos next faced Evan Dunham on May 18, 2013, at UFC on FX 8.

He won the fight via unanimous decision.

However, there was some controversy, as 10 out of 10 media outlets scored the bout in favor of Dunham.

dos Anjos faced Donald Cerrone on August 28, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 27.

He won the fight via unanimous decision.

In a 2014 interview, dos Anjos stated that he was a troubled child, getting into fights in his hometown Niterói, Rio de Janeiro.

He originally started training Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Daniel Matheus at the age of nine.

According to dos Anjos, he stopped fighting on the streets when he began training jiu jitsu.

The majority of dos Anjos' early career took place in his native country of Brazil.

He started off his career with a record of 2–2, with both losses coming by way of split decision.

dos Anjos then racked up 9 straight victories, which included 6 submissions.

His 11–2 record in regional circuits was enough to get a call from the UFC.

dos Anjos made his UFC debut at UFC 91, losing to Jeremy Stephens.

The fight was stopped in the third round after an uppercut knocked out dos Anjos.

For his second UFC fight, dos Anjos faced Tyson Griffin at UFC Fight Night 18.

dos Anjos lost the back-and-forth battle via unanimous decision.

The bout was awarded Fight of the Night honors.

dos Anjos was expected to face Rustam Khabilov on February 22, 2014, at UFC 170.

However, the bout was scrapped in the weeks leading up to the event.

dos Anjos instead faced Khabib Nurmagomedov on April 19, 2014, at UFC on Fox 11.