Rafael dos Anjos' rise through the ranks to become champion of the UFC's lightweight division has been a special sight to behold, and he doesn't see Conor McGregor as a threat to his title reign.
Where the savvy veteran once struggled to gain traction in the 155-pound division, "RDA" pressed to evolve his skill set and those efforts took him to the top of one of the deepest collectives under the UFC banner. His journey culminated with a March drubbing of Anthony Pettis at UFC 185, a fight where the hard-nosed Brazilian pummeled "Showtime" from pillar to post throughout the 25-minute affair.
Despite being a heavy underdog in the bout, dos Anjos shocked the world with his performance in Dallas, and he intends to keep the lightweight strap for a long time. The victory over Pettis gave dos Anjos a tremendous amount of momentum and, with that in mind, he took the time during a recent visit to Submission Radio to issue a warning to Irish superstar Conor McGregor.
The featherweight title challenger has talked about making a run at the lightweight title once he's finished handling his business in the 145-pound division—a move dos Anjos strongly urged him against. McGregor has also publicly stated his belief that he can defeat dos Anjos, a line of thought the current lightweight champion does not deem realistic.
"Man, I don't know how this guy thinks that. He flatters himself too much. I don't see it in any way. I can stop the fight with him in my closed guard. I can stop the fight on bottom...whatever position he wants. There's no way he can beat me. I don't see, like, any way. He's a good fighter, but he needs to take care of the featherweight division first, man. The lightweight division is a shark tank, you know? He better stay in the featherweight division."
While the champion's next bout currently remains uncertain, his next opponent will more than likely come from the upcoming tilt between Donald Cerrone and Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 187 on May 23. Dos Anjos has faced both men on previous occasions, but experienced mixed results in those outings. He defeated "Cowboy" via a unanimous decision during their tilt at Fight Night 27 in Indianapolis, while Nurmagomedov provided the lone blemish on dos Anjos' record during his recent 10-fight run to become lightweight champion.
As for McGregor, the brash-talking Irishman is set to square off with Brazilian phenom Jose Aldo in the main event at UFC 189 on July 11 in Las Vegas. He earned the title opportunity by winning five consecutive showings inside the Octagon, where he finished his opposition in all but one of those bouts. His run of impressive performances, in addition to his unique talent for self-promotion, put him on the fast track for title contention and his showdown with Aldo is easily one of the most anticipated fights on the schedule for 2015.
Though there is currently no clear road to a matchup between dos Anjos and McGregor, it would be difficult to imagine it not being a fight both the UFC and its passionate fan base could get behind.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
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