Rafael dos Anjos was one of the biggest losers of the Conor McGregor lottery. His injury took him out of the biggest and highest paying fights of his career. A fight that would have given him the most notoriety of any fight he has ever fought. Also, he did not get to beat McGregor, which Diaz did, and considering the Irishman’s ground skill could have easily happened. Now he faces off with a former Bellator champion to see who could potentially be the best Lightweight in the UFC.
There have been former Strikeforce, PRIDE and WEC champions that have captured UFC gold, but there has never been a Bellator champion to capture the crown. The road here has not been easy as Alvarez lost his debut to former title contender Donald Cerrone by decision. He has reversed that fate as of late when he took out former Strikeforce fighter and UFC Lightweight number one contender Gilbert Melendez as well as taking out former champion Anthony Pettis earlier this year. Those two close wins have propelled him back to the top of the division and with Diaz off fighting McGregor again there really is no one else of note to fight for the belt besides Khabib nurmagomedov who already has a title fight.
This could easily be RDA’s toughest fight to date. Alvarez is tough as nails and does not wilt under pressure like Cerrone did. He is also pretty durable and will not get as injured as Pettis and has proven his toughness with multiple five round fights. Plus, Alvarez has the wrestling to keep it off the ground and even if it does hit the ground he has the ability to stay on top and avoid submission. Plus, RDA has not shown the best guard game when most of his submissions have come from on top. This will be an interesting fight between two longtime fighters who have stayed at the top of the heap for quite a few years. Only time will tell who comes out on top, but who do you think wins this big 155 pound matchup?