RDA sets sights on Tyron Woodley after UFC 215: ‘The division is wide open’

[Edge Guerrero]

by Shaun Al-Shatti @shaunalshatti Sep 10, 2017

Rafael dos Anjos’ welterweight experiment appears to be a success.

The former UFC lightweight champion made a thunderous statement on Saturday, submitting 170-pound contender Neil Magny with a first-round arm-triangle choke in a one-sided performance to vault himself into instant title contention in the UFC’s welterweight division. Dos Anjos is now 2-0 in the weight class, having also decisioned ex-Strikeforce champion Tarec Saffiedine this past summer, and with the 170-pound class currently lacking a clear No. 1 contender, it may not be long before dos Anjos finds himself locked in a cage against UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.

“The division is wide open,” dos Anjos said Saturday night at UFC 215’s post-fight press conference. “All of the top five, top six guys in this division have lost to the champion or to the last challenger, which was Demian Maia. (Stephen) Thompson lost twice to Woodley already. And I’m new blood in this division. I was getting ready to fight Woodley if Maia didn’t take the fight (at UFC 214), but he ended up taking the fight, but I was getting ready for it and so here I am. I’m coming. Former lightweight champion looking forward to being two-division champion.”

Dos Anjos, 32, is already established as one of the greatest lightweights to ever compete in the UFC. From 2012 to 2015, “RDA” embarked on a masterful tear in the division, racking up a 10-1 record while dispatching a litany of celebrated names like Nate Diaz, Donald Cerrone (x2), and Benson Henderson en route to capturing the 155-pound title.

Dos Anjos’ momentum was ultimately halted in 2016 when he lost back-to-back fights against Eddie Alvarez and Tony Ferguson, but now the hard-charging Brazilian has reestablished himself as a name to watch at 170 pounds, and he is setting his sights squarely on Woodley — a champion who dos Anjos has criticized for playing it safe in his past title defenses.

“One thing, I can be sure: we’re going to fight. I’m not going to let him walk around, and I’m going to make sure I push the pace,” dos Anjos said of a potential fight against Woodley.

Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2017/9/10/16282830/rafael-dos-anjos-sets-sights-on-tyron-woodley-after-ufc-215-the-division-is-wide-open