Dos Anjos could get title shot
An aggressive style highlighted by a vicious repertoire of leg kicks has helped Rafael dos Anjos to eight wins in his last nine fights and vaulted him into the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division title picture.
A bit of good fortune and timing appears to have ensured he will indeed be next in line to get the next shot at Anthony Pettis’s belt.
Under normal circumstances, Dos Anjos would be behind Khabib Nurmagomedov in the 155-pound pecking order.
Nurmagomedov is 22-0 in his career, including six UFC victories. That streak including a one-sided unanimous decision victory over Dos Anjos in April.
But Nurmagomedov likely won’t be fully healed from knee surgery until April or May and Pettis, who missed more than a year before finally defending his title on Dec. 7, wants to get back in the cage as soon as possible.
Dos Anjos delivered a sparkling performance in a unanimous decision win over Nate Diaz on the UFC on Fox card in Phoenix on Saturday night and UFC president Dana White said the 30-year-old Brazilian would likely be rewarded with a title bout.
“As long as Dos Anjos comes out of this healthy, he’s next,” White said. “Anthony is ready now.”
Dos Anjos was beaming after hearing the announcement.
“That was the best news that I had. I’m so happy. I’ve been working hard for the past six years in the UFC,” he said. “That’s my dream. I think my hard work paid off. I fought a lot this year, I fought four times in eight months. I just need to take some rest and time off with my family and start getting back on track so I can get this belt.”
He wasn’t the only fighter to earn a title shot with an impressive performance on Saturday night.
White said Joanna Jedrzejczyk will likely be the first challenger for newly crowned women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza after a split decision win over Claudia Gadelha.
“I love the way this girl fights. I love her striking,” White said. “She’s probably going to get the next shot.”
CANSECO LOBBIES FOR FIGHT — As soon as former WWE champion C.M. Punk announced he had signed with the UFC, fighters began lining up for the chance to be his first opponent.
Now even aging athletes from other sports want in on the action.
Las Vegan Jose Canseco took to his Twitter account to ask the UFC for a contract so that he could be the first to fight the former wrestler.
Canseco did have a professional fight, a first-round loss to Hong Man Choi in 2009.
PALHARES KEEPS TITLE — World Series of Fighting welterweight champion Rousimar Palhares retained the belt with a first-round submission of Jon Fitch in the main event of a card in Sacramento, Calif., on Saturday.
Palhares locked in a kneebar and forced Fitch to tap out as he screamed in agony just 1:30 in to the bout.
The organization announced Jake Shields will fight Brian Foster on the WSOF card at Planet Hollywood on Jan. 17, with the winner likely getting the next opportunity to challenge Palhares.
Also on Saturday’s card, Lance Palmer submitted Rick Glenn in the third round to claim the featherweight title.
ROUSEY WRITING BOOK — UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey will release her memoir in May.
The book, titled “My Fight/Your Fight,” was co-written with her sister and will be published by Regan Arts.
Rousey’s next title defense will be against Cat Zingano on the UFC 184 card at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 28.
UFC RETURNS TO BRAZIL — Former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida will fight C.B. Dollaway in a middleweight contender bout in the main event of a UFC card in Barueri, Brazil, on Saturday.
The event, which airs on Fox Sports 1 (Cable 329), also features Mitch Gagnon taking on former bantamweight champion Renan Barao.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.