Rafael dos Anjos set to return to the octagon against highly ranked lightweight contender at UFC 299

Rafael dos Anjos' return to the cage looms and it's closer than you might think.

At UFC 299 against Mateusz Gamrot, dos Anjos will add yet another chapter in the incredible story of his UFC tenure.

On March 9, per the UFC website, reported by @BigMarcel24 on X, this high-stakes lightweight matchup is set to transpire in Q1 of 2024.

Rafael dos Anjos vs Mateusz Gamrot, as of this writing, pits the number 11-ranked lightweight contender against the number 6-ranked UFC lightweight respectively.

Gamrot looks to improve to a three-fight win streak in this next outing after back-to-back wins over Jalin Turner and Rafael Fiziev. The former KSW featherweight and lightweight champion looks to notch a win over a former UFC champ as Gamrot looks to carve a path towards a crack at that belt someday.

Gamrot has so far accrued other UFC wins over Scott Holtzman, Jeremy Stephens, Diego Ferreira, and Arman Tsarukyan.

Check out the dos Anjos vs Gamrot bout announcement below:

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Rafael dos Anjos' resume as a UFC warrior

RDA competed a single time this calendar year as he navigates his return in 2024. In his lone 2023 outing, dos Anjos fell short to number nine ranked welterweight Vicente Luque by unanimous decision in their UFC Fight Night main event in August.

Dos Anjos debuted in the UFC at UFC 91 in November 2008. He fell short in his debut via third-round knockout to Jeremy Stephens and also fell short in his sophomore outing. This came against Tyson Griffin, where he lost via unanimous decision in April 2009.

Rafael dos Anjos would then put together a three-fight winning streak and has since had a myriad of highs and lows over multiple weight divisions.

Dos Anjos is a former UFC lightweight champion who was able to log a successful defense of the promotion's 155-pound crown. RDA captured the belt from Anthony Pettis on points at UFC 185 then defended it against Donald Cerrone via a R1 knockout at UFC on Fox 17. After losing the belt to Eddie Alvarez and then being defeated by Tony Ferguson, Rafael dos Anjos headed north to 170 pounds.

Dos Anjos also ended up vying for interim welterweight gold but fell short to Colby Covington (who vies for welterweight gold at UFC 296 vs Leon Edwards on December 16) in their June 2018 UFC 225 bout.