Before rising to dominance as the UFC lightweight champion, Rafael Dos Anjos was considered a mid tier grappler. Few expected that the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt would go on to reach such great heights after his devastating loss to Jeremy Stephens in his UFC debut.

Dos Anjos is set to defend his UFC lightweight title in a champion vs. champion super fight against Conor McGregor at UFC 196.

Below is Sherdog.com‘s play by play of the Dos Anjos vs. Stephens fight:

Round 1
Good straight left hand from Anjos. Stephens stuffs a takedown attempt after almost a minute of sizing each other up. Dos Anjos has Stephens pinned along the cage. Good hip toss takedown from dos Anjos and Stephens turtles up. Dos Anjos doing a good job of keeping Stephens down along fence. Stephens pulls guard, but Anjos tries to pass. Stephens tries a guillotine from his back, but he has no leverage. He lets go. Dos Anjos quickly moves to side control. The Brazilian gets full mount and Stephens reverses him. Dos Anjos pulls guard and locks in a tight omaplata but he can’t secure it. Stephens escapes at the bell. 10-9 dos Anjos.

Round 2
Stephens is stalking while dos Anjos waits for an opening. Stephens stuffs a double leg attempt 90 seconds in. Dos Anjos scoops up Stephens and slams him down, but he falls into a crucifix. Dos Anjos escapes. Dos Anjos seizes Stephens’ back and applies a body triangle. The Brazilian gets a little over zealous and loses his position and has to pull guard. Sporadic bursts of punches from Stephens. Round ends with Stephens hammering out elbows and punches. Stephens takes the close round, 10-9.

Round 3
They circle, each landing decent leg kicks. Huge right uppercut drops dos Anjos. He’s hurt bad and Stephens jumps all over him. He unloads a series of right hands until referee Steve Mazzagatti steps in. Dos Anjos is out. The official time is :39 of the third.