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#4 Rafael Dos Anjos
Rafael Dos Anjos was one of last night’s biggest losers; the Brazilian went into his fight with Michael Chiesa as the betting favorite, and despite losing his last fight to Leon Edwards, was ranked at #5 in the Welterweight division, meaning he was still a viable title contender. After Chiesa defeated him in the same fashion that Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington and Edwards did though, it’s hard to see him in the same light.
The loss essentially exposed a major flaw in RDA’s skillset; he’s a fantastic offensive fighter in all areas, but simply can’t handle much larger fighters who can stifle him on the ground. The issue for Dos Anjos is that while he wouldn’t suffer from the same issues at 155lbs, he can’t make that weight safely. So essentially, he’s now in a role as a very high-level gatekeeper at Welterweight.
With that in mind then, there are a couple of potential fights for him to take next, but the one I’d like to see would pit him against hot prospect Geoff Neal. ‘Handz of Steel’ moved into the top 10 with his win over Mike Perry at UFC 245, has incredibly heavy strikes, and is unbeaten in the UFC at 5-0 – but he’s still unproven against elite-level opponents.
RDA would not only provide him with an elite-level test, but it’d also make for a fun fight for the Brazilian, as Neal wouldn’t look to simply stifle him on the ground. In every possible way, this sounds like a hell of a fight.
#5 Arnold Allen
British Featherweight Arnold Allen defeated the tough veteran Nik Lentz last night via a clear unanimous decision, largely using his striking skill – in particular, a ramrod jab – to outpoint ‘The Carny’ across 3 rounds. The win moved ‘Almighty’ to 7-0 in the UFC, but despite this he remains outside the top 15 at 145lbs.
Allen was initially pegged to face Josh Emmett at last night’s show, but with Emmett sidelined with an undisclosed injury, the fight fell apart. Could the UFC simply look to re-book the two men together? Emmett is currently ranked at #9 and so it’d make sense for the Brit, but what if ‘The Grim Reaper’ is out for an extended period?
If that’s the case, then the best bet for Allen’s next opponent could be Frankie Edgar. Sure, ‘The Answer’ is coming off a bad loss at the hands of Chan Sung Jung, but he would still represent the highest profile opponent of Allen’s career, and almost certainly has the skills to potentially outwork ‘Almighty’ should he prove to not quite be ready for the next level of competition.
