Rafael dos Anjos likes fighting.
The lightweight contender will fight for the third time in four months when he takes on Ben Henderson in tomorrow night’s main event at UFC Fight Night in Tulsa. After securing a knockout victory Jason High in June, dos Anjos began training for another fight right away in the hopes that something would open up… and it did.
“I didn’t change much in training,” dos Anjos told MMAFighting.com. “I fought Jason High 45 after my fight with Khabib (Nurmagomedov), and they offered me this fight a week later. I’m in great shape, I just had to watch out and avoid overtraining. I did a good job and everything is perfect going into this fight.”
dos Anjos is sure that a victory over Henderson could lead to a shot at the UFC lightweight championship against the winner of Anthony Pettis vs. Gilbert Melendez.
“I see this fight as a gift from God,” he said. “It’s my 16th UFC bout and my first main event. I’m really happy. A win over Ben Henderson puts me right into title contention, and I have no pressure at all over me. I’ve worked hard for years and everything is paying off right now. It’s a good fight to prove everybody that I’m ready.”
“Anything can happen. I might earn a title shot with a win over Ben Henderson,” he continued. “It can happen, yes, but it’s not in my head right now. I’m relaxed. I want to do my job and win a good fight. But I might earn a title shot with a win. Khabib is injured. (Donald) Cerrone is coming off good wins, but I beat him, so there’s a chance I’ll get a shot.”
