Rafael dos Anjos says he’s ready, willing and able to compete on any of the UFC’s upcoming fight cards if it helps the company get its schedule back on track.
Dos Anjos (30-13 MMA, 18-11 UFC) is staying in shape in his home gym, and even threw his name into the mix when the UFC was scrambling to find Tyron Woodley an opponent after Leon Edwards was forced off the since-postponed UFC on ESPN+ 29 card.
The former UFC lightweight champion last competed on Jan. 25 in a unanimous decision loss to Michael Chiesa, but says he’s ready to jump back into action to help the UFC get the show back on the road again.
“I know I’m not in a position of calling nobody out right now, but I’m in shape,” dos Anjos told MMA Junkie. “And I know like in these crazy times, UFC might be having a hard time, and I just threw my name out there, and then I text Dana and I told him if he needs me, if I can’t fly to fight, I can drive no problem, and I just put my name there. And if he needs me, I’ll be ready to help the company, as always.”
“I already let Dana know I can jump in to fight anybody at 170 pounds. I’m in shape, I’m training, and if the opportunity came up, I’ll be ready.”
Dos Anjos, who hasn’t competed in his home country of Brazil since 2013, initially wanted a spot on the UFC 250 card in Sao Paulo but, with most cards projected to shift to the U.S., that likely won’t happen.
“That was my plan when I was in Brazil,” dos Anjos said. “I got back from Brazil, I started getting back in shape and I started training, and so I had a goal to fight on that card. I haven’t fought in Brazil in a long time but unfortunately, it looks like it’s not gonna happen, but maybe (it) still can happen, we never know. I’ll be ready, we’re still like five, six weeks away. If it happens, I even asked Sean Shelby too to put me on that card.”
Despite being in the middle of a rough patch of form lately, with four losses from his last five outings, dos Anjos is ready to fight anyone, but when specifically asked, two names sprung to mind.
“I think me and Stephen Thompson, we got close to fighting a couple of times, and that will be a guy too, that will be a name, but I’m pretty open. I’ll fight anybody. As always, I never pick any names, I never pick my fights and so I’ll be pretty open to fight anybody.”
“Another fight that makes sense could be Anthony Pettis. I took the title from him, and after he beat Stephen Thompson, he called out my name, and that would be a fight that I would be open to.”
Rafael dos Anjos says he's ready to help UFC, fight on short notice if needed