HE’S TAKING ON the biggest star in the sport but Rafael dos Anjos (25-7) says his upcoming meeting with Conor McGregor (19-2) is just another fight.
Dos Anjos, the reigning UFC lightweight champion, will put his belt on the line in Las Vegas on 5 March, when McGregor — the current featherweight champion — will be aiming to become the first fighter in history to hold two UFC belts at the same time.
McGregor was a two-division champion with Cage Warriors before he joined the UFC, but dos Anjos described those achievements as “amateur” in an interview with MMAFighting.com.
‘The Notorious’ will sacrifice his size advantage when he moves back up to compete in the 155lbs division for the first time since he moved to the UFC, and dos Anjos is adamant that it won’t end well for the 27-year-old Dubliner.
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Dos Anjos became the UFC’s lightweight champion in March of last year when he dethroned Anthony Pettis, before taking just over a minute to successfully defend the belt against Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone in December.
“Lightweight division is a different story,” he said. “We’ll see. Everybody talks. Anthony Pettis talked before the fight. Donald Cerrone talked before the fight. See what happened? I’ll let him talk and we’ll see what happens. I hope he’s training hard. I think he’s going to be scared once I hit him.”
Dos Anjos pointed out that the UFC 197 headliner is basically a win-win situation for McGregor. Should he fail to overcome the Brazilian, he’ll still be a UFC champion as his featherweight belt won’t be on the line.
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UFC
“He doesn’t have anything to lose,” said dos Anjos. “He’s a smart guy. He knows that if he loses to [featherweight contenders] Jose Aldo or Frankie Edgar, he doesn’t have anything. But at lightweight, if he wins, he’s the man. If he loses, he still has his belt.
“I don’t feel any pressure. I have to take care of my family, my team and my legacy. It’s one more fight. There isn’t anything special in this fight. I’m just happy to put my hands on this guy and make him humble. I think the toughest part of this camp will be not putting my hands on him before the fight happens.”
Dos Anjos also responded to McGregor’s Facebook taunt, in which he questioned the Rio de Janeiro native’s nationality. In 2012, dos Anjos moved to California to train full-time at Kings MMA in Huntington Beach.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” Dos Anjos said of McGregor’s social media post. “We have a lot of Brazilians in the United States. It doesn’t mean we’re traitors to our country. I’ve got kids and I had to move for different things like better wrestling training partners here.
“I think that was a frustrated way to try to win the Brazilian fans. This guy is out of his mind. He’s going to try to do his best to try to mess with my head. I don’t hate him, but the Brazilians do. Brazil is on my side.”
'I'll make him humble, he'll be scared' - dos Anjos hits back at McGregor
HE’S TAKING ON the biggest star in the sport but Rafael dos Anjos (25-7) says his upcoming meeting with Conor McGregor (19-2) is just another fight.
Dos Anjos, the reigning UFC lightweight champion, will put his belt on the line in Las Vegas on 5 March, when McGregor — the current featherweight champion — will be aiming to become the first fighter in history to hold two UFC belts at the same time.
McGregor was a two-division champion with Cage Warriors before he joined the UFC, but dos Anjos described those achievements as “amateur” in an interview with MMAFighting.com.
‘The Notorious’ will sacrifice his size advantage when he moves back up to compete in the 155lbs division for the first time since he moved to the UFC, and dos Anjos is adamant that it won’t end well for the 27-year-old Dubliner.
Dos Anjos became the UFC’s lightweight champion in March of last year when he dethroned Anthony Pettis, before taking just over a minute to successfully defend the belt against Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone in December.
“Lightweight division is a different story,” he said. “We’ll see. Everybody talks. Anthony Pettis talked before the fight. Donald Cerrone talked before the fight. See what happened? I’ll let him talk and we’ll see what happens. I hope he’s training hard. I think he’s going to be scared once I hit him.”
Dos Anjos pointed out that the UFC 197 headliner is basically a win-win situation for McGregor. Should he fail to overcome the Brazilian, he’ll still be a UFC champion as his featherweight belt won’t be on the line.
“He doesn’t have anything to lose,” said dos Anjos. “He’s a smart guy. He knows that if he loses to [featherweight contenders] Jose Aldo or Frankie Edgar, he doesn’t have anything. But at lightweight, if he wins, he’s the man. If he loses, he still has his belt.
“I don’t feel any pressure. I have to take care of my family, my team and my legacy. It’s one more fight. There isn’t anything special in this fight. I’m just happy to put my hands on this guy and make him humble. I think the toughest part of this camp will be not putting my hands on him before the fight happens.”
Dos Anjos also responded to McGregor’s Facebook taunt, in which he questioned the Rio de Janeiro native’s nationality. In 2012, dos Anjos moved to California to train full-time at Kings MMA in Huntington Beach.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” Dos Anjos said of McGregor’s social media post. “We have a lot of Brazilians in the United States. It doesn’t mean we’re traitors to our country. I’ve got kids and I had to move for different things like better wrestling training partners here.
“I think that was a frustrated way to try to win the Brazilian fans. This guy is out of his mind. He’s going to try to do his best to try to mess with my head. I don’t hate him, but the Brazilians do. Brazil is on my side.”
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