Dos Anjos (photo) surprised the world by dominating A. Pettis and becoming lightweight champion. Photo: Disclosure/UFC
Unlikely and historic! This is how we can summarize the brilliant performance of Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 185. The Brazilian, who was considered a huge underdog in the fight for the lightweight belt against Anthony Pettis, didn't take notice of the hitherto champion to put on a spectacular fight. The Rio native dominated his rival for 25 minutes and became the first Brazilian to hold the belt in the under-70kg division. The fight was the main attraction of UFC 185, an event held in the early hours of this Sunday (15), in Dallas (USA).
See too
The fight
Rafael dos Anjos knew the recipe to win Anthony Pettis: pressure the champion from the first to the last second. Despite the unlikely task, the Brazilian followed the game plan to the letter. With a confident performance from start to finish, the Rio native reached the title unquestionably.
In the first few moves, Rafael closed the distance and worked with quick punches in front of the champion. Pettis tried to respond, but always without pressure. In the first blows hit by the Brazilian, Anthony's eye was already quite swollen. In the final minute of the first half, Rafael still took down Pettis to guarantee the round.
In the second round, the Brazilian repeated the recipe for success again. He put Pettis against the fence and agreed to exchange blows against the champion. With an impressive evolution in his stand-up game, Rafael was the first to start the sequence of blows, always connecting and leaving the champion unanswered.
Known for a deadly counterattack, Pettis was visibly lost under the pressure imposed by Rafael dos Anjos. In the third round, history repeated itself with a show from the Brazilian standing up and on the ground. He took down the American, passed his guard, avoided Anthony's submission attempts and struck hard from above.
With an advantage on the judges' scorecards, dos Anjos did not ease the pressure in the final rounds. Exuding physical form, he put pressure on the champion and even rocked Pettis with a left cross. Then, another fall from the Brazilian with great ease.
At the beginning of the fifth round, Pettis, almost desperately, risked a flying knee. The Brazilian dodged and frustrated the North American again. After dominating, again, the fifth round Rafael dos Anjos he reached Anthony's back in the final minute and came close to securing a rear naked choke. But the North American defended himself as best he could and managed to survive. However, it wasn't a problem, as the Brazilian prevailed in the judges' unanimous decision (50×45, 50×45, 50×45).
“It’s such an incredible blessing to get to the title fight and win! My savior, Jesus, is amazing, and I knew I would win the fight, he told me that. It's such an incredible blessing to get to the title fight and win! My savior, Jesus, is amazing, and I knew I would win the fight, he told me that. He taught me a lot. In that first round, after he hit my eye, I couldn't see anything else. No excuses, I have to improve a lot and train a lot. I have no excuses to make today”, said the Brazilian still in the Octagon
[vox id=”29926″]
UFC 185 results
MAIN CARD
Rafael dos Anjos derrotou Anthony Pettis in the unanimous decision of the judges (50×45, 50×45, 50×45)
Joanna Jedrzejczyk derrotou Carla esparza by knockout at 4m17s in R2;
John hendricks defeated Matt Brown via unanimous decision (30x27, 30x27, 30x27);
alistair overeem derrotou Roy Nelson in the unanimous decision of the judges (30×27, 30×27, 30×27);
Henry Cejudo defeated Chris Cariaso via unanimous decision (30×27, 30×27, 30×27)
PRELIMINARY CARD
Ross Pearson defeated Sam stout by knockout in R2;
Elias Theodorou defeated Roger Narvaez by technical knockout at 4:07 in R2;
Beneil Dariush submitted Daron Cruickshank with a rear naked choke at 2m48s of R2;
Jared Rosholt defeated Josh Copeland via TKO at 3:12 of R3;
Ryan Benoit defeated Sergio Pettis by TKO at 1m34s of R2;
Joseph Duffy defeated Jake Lindsey by knockout at 1m47s of R1;
Germain de Randamie derrotou Larissa pacheco by technical knockout at 2m02s of R2
Comments