RDA: I earned title shot vs. Woodley, willing to wait
RDA: “I never had an easy path to get to the lightweight belt. I’m not gonna have an easy path to the get to the welterweight belt.”
Rafael dos Anjos won the UFC lightweight championship in 2015, and defended it successfully the same year. He lost it in 2016 to Eddie Alvarez and then lost his next fight, to Tony Ferguson. In yet another sign of the failure of the culture of extreme weight cutting, RDA then moved up to welterweight and has found renewed success, winning three in a row at welterweight, most recently Robbie Lawler at UFC or FOX 26 in a title eliminator.
Now he wants his title shot at division champion Tyron Woodley, and he’s willing to wait for it.
I’m able to wait for him, said dos Anjos at the post fight press conference, as transcribed byMarc Raimondi for MMA Fighting. I think I did enough in the division to deserve the title shot. And I’m not a guy that talks so much, try to get that title shot because I’m talking bad about people, cursing people. I just go there and do a great performance like I did tonight. I hope so. Dana White said that. That’s what I hope.
People forget. Most of the people in MMA, MMA fans, they have very short memory. People remember you because of your last performance; they don’t remember your whole career. I never had an easy path to get to the lightweight belt. I’m not gonna have an easy path to the get to the welterweight belt. I’m not the guy that talk much, I don’t curse people. I just go in there and work.
I think when he fought Demian [Maia], he was worried about takedowns only. When he fought ‘Wonderboy’ [Thomson], he was worried only about stand up. I think with me, he’s gotta be worried about everywhere. I’m gonna kick him, I’m gonna wrestle him, i’m gonna try to take him down, I’m gonna box him. He’s gonna have a lot of things to worry about.
