Rafael Dos Anjos: I Finally Get Noticed By The Fans

After starting his UFC journey back in late 2008 with two straight losses, UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos’ career came full circle when he won the belt from former champion Anthony Pettis in dominant fashion at UFC 185 in March.

With four straight wins and victory in nine out of his last ten, dos Anjos has finally made a name for himself by defeating some of the world’s top lightweight talent with his well-rounded mix of rapidly improving striking and always-lethal black belt-level Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills. In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, he stated his recent run has finally begun gaining him some much-deserved recognition:

“I get noticed by the fans. Finally, I’m getting the respect that I deserve. Things change around me but not on my mind. I’m training hard and want to defend this belt for a long time.”

That recognition may have to unfortunately wait for a while longer, however, as dos Anjos went into his fight with Pettis experiencing a torn MCL in his left knee. The injury didn’t require surgery, but his nose, which he could reportedly barely breath out of prior to defeating ‘Showtime,’ did. He’s been on the sidelines since, and has still not been given the green light to resume training.

Dos Anjos expects to get back into the cage around December, but said the knee injury is new to him so he needs a full four months to recover:

“I’m still not cleared to train yet. Once I’m cleared, I need four months to get ready for the fight. I could do this in three months but I never hurt my knee in my whole life and I’ve never stayed three months without training.”

So dos Anjos may finally be getting the respect he feels he deserves, but as the latest lightweight champ to win the belt and then take an extended absence due to injury, that’s going to dry up quickly if he doesn’t return soon and win.

With Russian contender Khabib Nurmagomedov, the last man to defeat him at UFC on FOX 11, currently on the shelf recovering from a knee injury of his own, the UFC has confirmed that dos Anjos’ past opponent Donald Cerrone will get the next shot at the champ later this year.

He’s beat ‘Cowboy’ before at 2013’s UFC Fight Night 27, but it’s more than clear that both fighters’ skills are at entirely different levels right now. Will ‘RDA’ be the latest injured lightweight champion to hold up the frustrating division, or will he defeat ‘Cowboy’ again and move on to avenge his loss to ‘The Eagle?’

Photo Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports