Rafael dos Anjos shined in his return to the welterweight division on Saturday with a one-sided performance over Bryan Barberena in the UFC on ESPN 42 co-headliner.
After admitting his pursuit to regain the UFC lightweight title was over, the former champion dos Anjos (32-14 MMA, 21-12 UFC) moved back up a weight class for what seems like the final run of his career. He got things off to a good start, halting Barberena’s momentum by submission at the 3:20 mark of Round 2.
RDA MAKES HISTORY WITH ANOTHER WIN AT #UFCORLANDO 👏 pic.twitter.com/A6ATN4TP5B
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 4, 2022
The 170-pound bout was the UFC on ESPN 42 co-main event at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla.
Dos Anjos came out of the gate strong. He closed the distance on Barberena (18-9 MMA, 9-7 UFC), got a takedown and threatened with an arm-triangle choke submission. He couldn’t finish it, but he had control for almost the entirety of the opening five minutes.
Barberena showed more resistance in the early stages of the second round, but it took roughly 90 seconds for dos Anjos to secure another takedown and get back to work on top. Dos Anjos advanced to the back and threatened with a rear-naked choke, and after some hand fighting, eventually got the choke in deep and forced the tap.
After the win, which saw dos Anjos became the fifth in UFC history to reach 21 promotional wins, and also become the first to log eight hours of cage time, dos Anjos attempted to reignite his longstanding rivalry with Conor McGregor, whom he wants welcome back to the octagon in 2023.
“I think I have the right to call (out) somebody, and I want to call out Conor McGregor,” dos Anjos said. “Seven years ago, I earned this fight beating Donald Cerrone. He came up a division. We were supposed to fight. I broke my foot. But now, here I am. He has a couple months to clear his body of all the shi*t he’s taking, and I’ll see you in July.”
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 42 results include:
- Rafael dos Anjos def. Bryan Barberena via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:20
- Matheus Nicolau def. Matt Schnell via TKO (punches) æ Round 2, 1:44
- Sergei Pavlovich def. Tai Tuivasa via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:54
- Roman Dolidze def. Jack Hermansson via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:06
- Eryk Anders def. Kyle Daukaus via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:45
- Phil Rowe def. Niko Price via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 3:26
- Angela Hill def. Emily Ducote via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Clay Guida def. Scott Holtzman via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Michael Johnson def. Marc Diakiese via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Jonathan Pearce def. Darren Elkins via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Natan Levy def. Genaro Valdez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Francis Marshall def. Marcelo Rojo via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 1:14
- Yazmin Jauregui def. Istela Nunes via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:06
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 42.
