How a major move helped improve UFC lightweight Rafael dos Anjos' career
Rafael dos Anjos knew that from the moment he joined the UFC, he was good enough to compete with the best fighters in the world.
His record, though, didn't always show that.
He lost his first two UFC bouts and was 4-4 after eight. He was a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu wizard, but his striking wasn't up to par and, with all the distractions he encountered at home in Rio de Janeiro, he wasn't improving the way he thought he should.
So, he moved to Southern California three years ago to train at Kings MMA in Huntington Beach, Calif., under legendary coach Rafael Cordeiro.
The results in the eight fights since prove dos Anjos was very astute.
He's 7-1 since the move to the U.S. and is coming off the most impressive win of his long career, a first-round stoppage of former lightweight champion Benson Henderson in August.
He faces Nate Diaz in the co-main event of a Fox Sports-televised card Saturday at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, knowing a good performance will put him in position for a major 2015.
"There were so many distractions and other things at home that I wasn't able to train and do what I needed to do for my career," dos Anjos said. "It was hard to move away, because I love my country and I love my people, but I don't think I could have gotten to this point if I'd stayed there because of all that goes on."
The move didn't come without its issues, not the least of which was the language barrier. Dos Anjos speaks Portuguese, but when he and his wife moved to Southern California, they had to learn English quickly.
The typical issues, such as ordering at a restaurant, weren't really all that big of a deal to him. But when officials at his children's school would call that presented a problem.
"That's really the hard part, that kind of thing," he said. "You want the best for your kids and you want to be aware of what is going on, but when someone from the school calls and you don't know what they're saying, it's difficult."
But he quickly learned how to communicate and now his career is where he wants it to be. He has not only beaten Henderson, but he's also topped fighters such as Donald Cerrone and Evan Dunham, as well.
His only loss was to the unbeaten Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is likely to get the next crack at lightweight champion Anthony Pettis.
Dos Anjos said he learned a lot from his performance against Nurmagomedov and said he was his own worst enemy in that fight.
"I've learned that the key is to fight with no pressure," dos Anjos said. "When you put the pressure on yourself, it's not good. If you fight afraid to lose, you wind up not fighting that good.
"When I fought Khabib, it showed me I can't be afraid to lose. I just have to go out and fight my fight and fight to win. I went out 45 days after that and I beat Jason High, and then I went and fought Henderson. I learned from the [loss to Nurmagomedov] and it's made me better."
He wants to keep the momentum rolling against Diaz, who will be fighting for the first time in more than a year. The fact that dos Anjos is healthy and has been active should give him an advantage in the fight, though he is taking nothing for granted.
Diaz is tall and not only has great boxing skills – particularly a solid jab – but he has tremendous cardiovascular conditioning and can wear opponents down.
But dos Anjos is confident yet not cocky. He believes in himself and his skills, and insists he'll get past Diaz to set himself up in 2015 for the kind of year he's dreamed of having.
"He has good boxing, but we're fighting MMA," dos Anjos said. "He's good off his back, but I have a good top game. And I like to fight tall guys. Ever since I was 10 years old doing jiu-jitsu, I've done well against the tall guys.
"I believe I'm ready to [do well] in this fight. I have never had a problem with my cardio. I'm happy with where I am and I want to show those who still doubt me what I can do."
More UFC coverage:
