Rafael dos Anjos says he is ‘in’ for a rematch with Anthony Pettis

By Harry Kettle - March 3, 2020

Rafael dos Anjos has confirmed that he is interested in a potential rematch with Anthony Pettis following their fight back at UFC 185.

Rafael dos Anjos, Islam Makhachev

Dos Anjos is coming off the back of consecutive losses at the hands of Leon Edwards and Michael Chiesa, with his last win being a submission triumph over Kevin Lee back at UFC Rochester in May 2019. Pettis, on the other hand, has also lost two in a row against Nate Diaz and Carlos Diego Ferreira.

Both men need to get themselves back on track, and they could attempt to do so against one another in the not so distant future.

“I’m in,” dos Anjos wrote on Twitter when a fan suggested a rematch with Pettis.

In their first meeting back at UFC 185 in March 2015, dos Anjos won the lightweight belt via unanimous decision. Many believe that fight sent Pettis on a downward spiral in terms of his MMA career, with “Showtime” going on a 4-7 run in the UFC ever since then.

On the flip side, dos Anjos has also had eleven fights since that night — although he’s picked up a slightly better record at 5-6. Both men have also challenged for interim titles in different weight classes since then, with dos Anjos losing to Colby Covington in their Interim Welterweight Championship clash and Pettis being beaten by Max Holloway in their Interim Featherweight Championship fight.

They have mirrored each other in more ways than one as the years have gone on, and while a third loss on the bounce could prove to be significant for either competitor, they would almost certainly be willing to put it all on the line in the name of building up some momentum.

For dos Anjos that’s probably all this fight would be about, but for Pettis, he’ll be desperate for redemption against the man that took his belt away.

While their first fight went down at lightweight, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them compete at welterweight for this potential rematch.

Does a rematch between Rafael dos Anjos and Anthony Pettis interest you?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 3/3/2020.   

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


Topics:

Anthony Pettis Rafael dos Anjos UFC