Rafael dos Anjos

Rafael Souza dos Anjos (born 26 October 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 April 16, 2024, he is #14 in the UFC lightweight rankings.

Early life
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.

Mixed martial arts career
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 him a call from the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship
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 scheduled to fight Matt Wiman on 19 September 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 7 August 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 2 July 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 19 November 2011 at UFC 139. He lost the fight via split decision.

dos Anjos faced Kamal Shalorus on 15 May 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 11 July 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 17 November 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 18 May 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 28 August 2013, at UFC Fight Night 27. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

dos Anjos was expected to face Rustam Khabilov on 22 February 2014 at UFC 170. However, the bout was scrapped in the weeks leading up to the event. dos Anjos instead faced Khabib Nurmagomedov on 19 April 2014 at UFC on Fox 11. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

dos Anjos faced Jason High on 7 June 2014 at UFC Fight Night 42. He won the fight via TKO in the second round.

dos Anjos headlined UFC Fight Night 49 against former lightweight champion Benson Henderson on 23 August 2014. He won the fight via knockout in the first round after dropping Henderson with a flying knee and rendering him unconscious with a follow-up left hook. The win also earned him his first Performance of the Night bonus award and made him the only man to stop Henderson by strikes.

dos Anjos faced Nate Diaz on 13 December 2014, at UFC on Fox 13. He won the fight by unanimous decision. He dominated the first two rounds with superior striking and vicious leg kicks with the third round being controlled by dos Anjos on the mat.

UFC Lightweight Championship
dos Anjos faced Anthony Pettis for the UFC Lightweight Championship on 14 March 2015 at UFC 185. dos Anjos won the bout via unanimous decision in a dominant fashion. After the fight, dos Anjos revealed that he had torn his MCL only a few weeks before the bout. The win once again earned him a Performance of the Night bonus award.

For his first title defense, dos Anjos rematched Donald Cerrone in the main event of UFC on Fox 17 on 19 December 2015. He won the fight via TKO at just 66 seconds into the first round, resulting in the fastest finish in UFC Lightweight title history. The win also earned dos Anjos his third Performance of the Night bonus award.

dos Anjos was expected to face Conor McGregor on 5 March 2016 at UFC 196 for his second title defense of the lightweight belt. However, it was announced on 23 February that dos Anjos had been forced out of the fight after breaking his foot during training.

In his second title defense, dos Anjos faced Eddie Alvarez on 7 July 2016 at UFC Fight Night 90. Despite closing as a three-to-one favorite to win the fight, he lost the bout via TKO in the first round. Reports arose after the Alvarez fight that dos Anjos had passed out for three minutes moments before going out to fight, and that this was due to the effects of the gruelling weight cut.

Post championship
dos Anjos next faced Tony Ferguson on 5 November 2016 at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Both participants were awarded Fight of the Night for their performance.

Move to Welterweight
dos Anjos faced Tarec Saffiedine, former Strikeforce title holder, in a welterweight bout on 17 June 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Correia. He won the fight via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, and 29–28).

dos Anjos faced Neil Magny on 9 September 2017 at UFC 215. He won the fight via arm-triangle choke submission in the first round. This win also earned dos Anjos his fourth Performance of the Night bonus award.

In a title eliminator, dos Anjos faced Robbie Lawler on 16 December 2017 in the main event at UFC on Fox: Lawler vs. dos Anjos. dos Anjos' fight plan relied heavily on low leg kicks and constant combos consisting of body shots and leg kicks. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

dos Anjos fought Colby Covington on 9 June 2018, at UFC 225 for the Interim UFC Welterweight Championship. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

dos Anjos faced Kamaru Usman on 30 November 2018 at The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

dos Anjos faced Kevin Lee in Lee's welterweight debut at UFC Fight Night 152 on 18 May 2019. He won the fight via an arm triangle submission in the fourth round.

dos Anjos faced Leon Edwards on 20 July 2019 at UFC on ESPN 4. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

dos Anjos faced Michael Chiesa on 25 January 2020, at UFC Fight Night 166. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Return to Lightweight
dos Anjos was expected to face Islam Makhachev on 24 October 2020, in dos Anjos' return to the lightweight division at UFC 254. However, on 8 October it was reported that dos Anjos tested positive for COVID-19 and he was removed from the bout. The pairing was left intact and rescheduled for 14 November 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. dos Anjos. However, on 8 November it was reported that Makhachev was forced to pull from the event due to injuries. On a quick turnaround, it was announced that Paul Felder stepped up to replace Makhachev on five days notice. Simultaneously, dos Anjos signed a new six-fight contract with the UFC and committed to compete in the lightweight division. dos Anjos went on to defeat Felder via split decision. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night awards. The bout with Makhachev was rescheduled and was expected to take place on 30 October 2021 at UFC 267. However, yet again, dos Anjos was forced to pulled from the event, citing injury, and was replaced by Dan Hooker.

dos Anjos was scheduled to face Rafael Fiziev on 19 February 2022 at UFC Fight Night 201. However, the bout was postponed to UFC 272 due to visa issues with Fiziev. One week before the event, Fiziev was forced to withdraw due to testing positive for COVID-19, and was replaced by Renato Moicano on just 4 days notice at a catchweight of 160 pounds. dos Anjos won the fight via unanimous decision.

The bout against Fiziev was rescheduled for the third time for UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Fiziev on 9 July 2022. He lost the fight via knockout in round five.

Return to Welterweight
dos Anjos faced Bryan Barberena in a welterweight bout on 3 December 2022 at UFC on ESPN 42. He won via neck crank in the second round. From this bout, Dos Anjos surpassed Frankie Edgar for longest fight time and is the first fighter to reach 8 hours of fight time in UFC history.

dos Anjos was scheduled to face Vicente Luque  on 15 July 2023 at UFC on ESPN 49. However, the pair was moved to instead fight on 12 August 2023 at UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. dos Anjos for unknown reasons. Dos Anjos lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Return to Lightweight
dos Anjos faced Mateusz Gamrot in a lightweight bout on 9 March 2024 at UFC 299. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Fighting style
Dos Anjos is known for his aggressive, high-volume striking, physical strength, and strong takedown capabilities. He will often come out aggressively in a Muay Thai stance, then use feints and kicks to back his opponent against the cage while swarming them with flurries of punches as well as takedowns. He is particularly noted for his left kick to the body and right hook to the head; he uses these strikes to limit his opponent's lateral movement as they attempt to get their backs away from the fence. Under trainer Jason Parillo, dos Anjos developed a refined boxing game in 2017. On the ground, he is noted for his powerful ground-and-pound, which includes punches and sharp elbow strikes. In addition to his striking, dos Anjos is a high-level black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Dos Anjos trains out of Evolve MMA in Singapore and at Team RDA in California; he formerly trained at Kings MMA but left after losing to Eddie Alvarez. He is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Aldo "Caveirinha" Januário.

Personal life
After receiving a broken jaw in the Guida fight, dos Anjos now has a titanium fused jaw that he claims has broken some hands of later opponents. Dr. Johnny Benjamin has disagreed with dos Anjos, pointing out that the titanium plate in his jaw is measured in millimeters.

Dos Anjos is a Christian. Dos Anjos has three children with his wife, Cris. On 20 December 2019, dos Anjos revealed on social media that he and his family are now naturalized U.S. citizens.

Championships and achievements

 * Ultimate Fighting Championship
 * UFC Lightweight Championship (One time)
 * One successful title defense
 * Fight of the Night (Three times) vs. Tyson Griffin, Tony Ferguson, and Paul Felder
 * Submission of the Night (One time) vs. Terry Etim
 * Performance of the Night (Four times) vs. Donald Cerrone, Anthony Pettis, Benson Henderson, and Neil Magny
 * 2015 Half-Year Awards: Biggest Upset of the 1HY vs. Anthony Pettis
 * Longest total fight time in UFC history (8:41:49)
 * First and only fighter to reach 8 hours of fight time in UFC history
 * Tied (Jon Jones) for ninth most wins in UFC history (21)
 * Fifth most bouts in UFC history (35)
 * Most unanimous decision wins in UFC history (11)
 * Tied (Francisco Trinaldo) for most unanimous decision wins in UFC Lightweight history (7)
 * Most decision bouts in UFC history (22)
 * Fourth most significant strikes landed in UFC history (1818)
 * Third most total strikes landed in UFC history (2587)
 * Fight Matrix
 * Lineal MMA Lightweight Champion (One time, Former)

Submission grappling
Brazilian jiu-jitsu
 * World Jiu-Jitsu Championship
 * 2003 Purple Belt Peso Leve: 1st Place
 * Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship
 * 2004 Brown Belt Peso Leve: 3rd Place
 * 2005 Brown Belt Peso Leve: 3rd place
 * European Championship
 * 2006 Black Belt Peso Leve: 3rd place