Dos Anjos last foray into the heavier weight division came opposite Michael Chiesa in what was a three-round decision loss. He exited the weight class with a record of four wins and four losses, but has since gone 2-1 at lightweight, with his most recent bout ending in a loss via KO in the fifth round of his bout against Rafael Fiziev.
Barberena will ride a three-fight win streak into the December bout with wins over names such as Matt Brown and Robbie Lawler, the latter taking place in July of this year.
The AllStar MMA roundup
- UFC Vegas 62: Mike Jackson eyes a statement finish after ‘cheating ass’ Dean Barry sullied prior win
- UFC Vegas 61: Randy Costa to nullify the threats, put Guido Cannetti’s lights out
- UFC Vegas 61: UFC Vegas 61 is Mike Davis’ coming out party, wants four fights a year in the future
- UFC Vegas 61: Philipe Lins feels his jiu-jitsu will overpower Maxim Grishin at UFC Vegas 61
- UFC Vegas 61: Now settled at strawweight, UFC Vegas 61’s Tabatha Ricci predicting finish against Jessica Penne
The best of the rest
- Eddie Alvarez explains decision to part ways with ONE Championship, open to UFC or Bellator return – MMAFighting.com
- Scott Coker announces Bellator lightweight grand prix for 2023 – MMAFighting.com
- Dana White says ‘it’s a little too soon’ for Kevin Holland to retire, chalks up post to emotions – MMAJunkie.com
- Luke Rockhold might return to UFC if ‘that Brazilian dude’ Alex Pereira beats Israel Adesanya – BloodyElbow.com
- Mackenzie Dern says UFC Vegas 61 closure falls on Mark Zuckerberg renting out UFC Apex, Dana White denies – MMAMania.com
The soapbox
Borz eyes his next meal:
Dana White denies the rumours surrounding UFC Vegas 61:
“I’m not surprised, motherfuckers”:
Mike Davis unveils his new physique:
T-Wrecks is game:
Della’s looking for a scrap:
The morning view
JHK Catches up with Mana Martinez ahead of UFC Vegas 62:
Dan Hardy digs into the archives to break down Usman vs Covington I:
An assortment of Herb Dean’s finest moments:
Done deals
Thursday
- Rafael dos Anjos to fight Bryan Barberena at UFC Orlando on December 3rd (per Combate)
- Arman Tsarukyan to fight Damir Ismagulov at UFC Vegas 66 on December 17th (per Marcel Dorf)
- Kelvin Gastelum to fight Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Vegas 67 on January 14th (per La Sueur)
- Brad Tavares to fight Gregory Rodrigues at UFC 283 on January 21st (per Laerte Viana)
- Josiane Nunes to fight Zarah Fairn at UFC 283 on January 21st (per Guilherme Cruz)
- Daniel da Silva to fight Vinicius Salvador at UFC 282 on December 10th (per Raphael Marinho)
Wednesday:
- Jose Johnson to fight Vince Morales at UFC Vegas 65 on November 19th (per Alex Behunin)
Tuesday
- Brandon Moreno vs Deiveson Figueiredo in the works for UFC 283 on Jan 21st (per Rodrigo Gonzalez)
Monday
- Derrick Lewis to fight Serghei Spivac at UFC Vegas 65 on November 19th (per UFC)
- Chris Curtis to fight Joaquin Buckley at UFC 282 on December 10th (per Iridium Sports)
- Gabriel Bonfim to fight Mounir Lazzez at UFC 283 on January 21st (per Iridium Sports)
- Yamato Nishikawa replaces J. Mullarkey to fight Magomed Mustafaev at UFC 280 on October 22nd (per MMA Fight Universe)
On this day in MMA…
On the 29th of September, 2012, an undefeated Stipe Miocic suffered the first loss of his career at UFC on Fuel TV 5 at the hands of Stefan Struve.
Riding a nine-fight win streak into the bout, Miocic entered the Octagon as the favorite opposite Struve, 24-5, with many expecting him to walk off with a win.
The first round saw back and forth from both heavyweights, with Miocic looking to get the better of the exchanges, however round two was different. Struve turned up the aggression early, backing Miocic up before landing a solid right hand, followed by a series of uppercuts, forcing the referee to step in.
The official stoppage happened at 3:50 of the second round.
