Next Fights to Make for Rafael dos Anjos

Last Saturday at UFC on Fox 17, Rafeal dos Anjos cemented his position atop of the lightweight division, and made it clear his dominant performance over Anthony Pettis earlier this year was no fluke.

At this time last year, Pettis was on top of the world. He was the undisputed lightweight kingpin, he was the first mixed martial artist to grace the cover of a Wheaties box, and he was easily one of the most marketable fighters in the UFC. Fast-forward a year, and Pettis has all but fallen off, and the lightweight division is dominated by one of the scariest men in the sport, dos Anjos. dos Anjos earned the title earlier this year after he brutalized “Showtime” Pettis for five rounds to claim the belt, and is fresh off a first round demolition of Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.

The future of the lightweight division may be a little murky these days, due to the possibility of Featherweight Champion, Conor McGregor, making the jump to lightweight, but here are several possible fights for the UFC to make for dos Anjos.

Conor McGregor

If the new featherweight kingpin does have aspirations of abandoning his belt and moving to 155 lbs, a match-up with dos Anjos makes sense, and could be a big money fight. McGregor is undoubtably the hottest commodity in the UFC these days, and a fight between him and dos Anjos would be a huge super-fight. The company has had a pretty bad track record of actually coming through on super fights (Georges St-Pierre vs. Anderson Silva), but with any luck, MMA fans will be treated to this one sometime next year.

Khabib Nurmagomedov

Nurmagomedov’s last fight was in fact a win over our current champ, and after going 22-0 in his MMA career, and 6-0 in the UFC, it’s hard to argue that Nurmagomedov doesn’t deserve a title fight. The problem, of course, is that Nurmagomedov can’t stay healthy. Nurmagomedov not only destroys everyone in his path, but also his body in the process. The American Kickboxing Academy team member has the Sambo skills to neutralize everyone in his division, but unless he’s able to keep his body healthy, a rematch with dos Anjos may be unlikely. The champ may be interested in a rematch Nurmagomedov, and get the chance to avenge his only loss in the past four years.

Winner of Anthony Pettis vs. Eddie Alvarez

This one makes sense; Pettis was a super popular champion that was on an absolute tear before he met dos Anjos, and Alvarez is already ranked as the #4 lightweight fighter in the UFC. An impressive win for either man could earn them a title shot.

Tony Ferguson

It’s my guess that people aren’t lining up around the block right now for a chance to fight Tony Ferguson, especially after what he just did to Edson Barboza. Ferguson is an absolute berzereker with a nasty submission game. If the McGregor fight doesn’t come to fruition, I truly believe dos Anjos’ next title defense should be against Ferguson. Both men are annihilating everything in their paths, and this one could be a barn-burner for the ages.

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