Rafael dos Anjos sliced Paul Felder's face open in a bloody 5-round war, then called-out Conor McGregor for a 155-pound fist-fight
- Rafael dos Anjos sliced Paul Felder's face open during a bloody, five-round fight Saturday.
- The 36-year-old Brazilian won the Las Vegas bout and then said after that he'd ideally want to fight Conor McGregor next.
- McGregor has a Dustin Poirier fight lined up on January 23 but was quick to respond to say that he's "down for it all."
Rafael dos Anjos sliced Paul Felder's face open in a bloody five-round war, then called-out Conor McGregor for a 155-pound fist-fight.
dos Anjos and Felder headlined Saturday's UFC Fight Night 183 event which was broadcast from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Despite a split decision verdict from the Octagonside judges, it was a comfortable victory for dos Anjos who advanced his pro MMA record to 30 wins (five knockouts, 10 submissions, and 15 decisions) against 13 losses.
Dos Anjos completed six of his 22 takedown attempts compared to Felder's one from two, and though they landed a similar amount of strikes, it was the Brazilian who did far more damage.
By the end of the 25-minute fight, Felder had blood all over his face; had a cut on his forehead, one on his eyelid, and another below his eye; and wore multiple bruises from the bludgeoning that came his way.
dos Anjos was originally supposed to fight Islam Makhachev this weekend but the Russian fighter withdraw from the lightweight scrap because of an undisclosed injury.
Felder filled the void on just five days' notice, performing valiantly considering he was only brought in as a competitor this week.
Regardless, the late switch also affected how dos Anjos had to prepare.
"We had to make some adjustments with the change in opponents," he said after the 30th pro MMA win of his career.
"I was training to defend takedowns against a southpaw and in five days, I had to fight an orthodox striker. I was kind of thrown off in the first rounds, trying to find the distance and get closer to him because he is a right-handed guy, so I had to change my game plan and try to grapple, take him to the ground.
"In just five days I had to do everything I didn't train to do. But we managed to adjust and adapt there and get the win," he said.
A Conor McGregor contest is now in the fighter's crosshairs
dos Anjos added that he feels better at the 155-pound weight class than he did at 170-pounds, which is welterweight, and he is now casting his eye on future matches against the top tier fighters in his division.
"If you look at the rankings, with Khabib Nurmagomedov leaving the division, there are three former interim champions: Tony Ferguson, Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier.
"The only real champions, linear champions of the division are me and Conor McGregor.
"So I think with the real champion going away and leaving the division open, I think it's the fight to make," he said.
McGregor is lined up to fight Dustin Poirier on January 23, likely on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, but it did not take the Irishman long to respond.
"Dustin first, but I'm down for it all," McGregor said on Twitter.
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