Rafael dos Anjos is back in championship form.

The former UFC lightweight titleholder returned to his longtime division Saturday and was brilliant in beating Paul Felder via split decision (47-48, 50-45, 50-45) in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas. Dos Anjos showed a well-rounded game, doing damage on the feet -- Felder was a bloody mess by the end -- and grinding things out against the fence, as well as on the ground.

Felder was supposed to be a color commentator on the ESPN+ broadcast for this card. But dos Anjos' original opponent, Islam Makhachev, withdrew due to an undisclosed injury last Sunday. Felder agreed Monday to step in on just five days' notice. Coming in, ESPN had Felder ranked No. 6 in the world at lightweight.

Jan 14, 2021 Felder’s role as fight analyst at UFC 257 will see him cross paths with Conor McGregor, who has taken issue with the Philadelphia native’s fighting moniker, “The Irish Dragon,” on social media in. Nov 15, 2020 Paul Felder, entered the octagon on five days’ notice, stepping away from the commentary table, as the #6 Best UFC Lightweight, making him an easy favorite, despite having lost his last bout.

'I was training for a wrestler, a southpaw wrestler,' dos Anjos said. 'And Paul Felder is an orthodox striker. Very technical. Strong guy. But we had to make the show happen.'

Judges Sal D'Amato and Derek Cleary scored all five rounds for dos Anjos. Judge Chris Lee dissented. He scored the second, third and fourth for Felder.

In his postfight interview, dos Anjos called out Conor McGregor; that fight that was supposed to happen in 2016 before dos Anjos got injured. Dos Anjos said if UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is truly retired now, a bout with McGregor makes the most sense.

See full list on en.wikipedia.org. Nov 09, 2020 Both Felder and dos Anjos (30-13 MMA, 18-11 UFC) have competed at welterweight in the past, though they reside mostly at 155 pounds. According to Felder, dos Anjos was focused on making his mark at.

'I want to face whoever is on the line for that belt,' dos Anjos said. 'I know I've got a lot in me still. At 36 years old, tonight was my 30th UFC appearance. I think if Khabib is really retired, it will leave the division wide open. If you look at the contenders, only me and Conor, we are the only real [former] champions in that division. ... If the division is open, I think me and Conor is the fight to make.'

Six months ago, dos Anjos decided to move back down from welterweight to lightweight. He moved back to his native Brazil for training camp and worked with the prestigious Nova Uniao camp in Rio de Janeiro. Dos Anjos dedicated himself to dropping the pounds, staying strict with his diet and using the nutritionist of former featherweight champion and legend Jose Aldo.

Dos Anjos vs. Makhachev was initially scheduled for UFC 254 last month, but dos Anjos and his entire family -- including his wife, children and mother -- tested positive for COVID-19. His wife, Cristiane, had to be admitted to the hospital. All are healthy now, but there were moments of trepidation over the past few weeks.

'It's been a crazy roller coaster this camp,' dos Anjos said.

Meanwhile, Felder had to cut a significant amount of extra weight beginning Monday to make weight Friday morning, which he did successfully. He said after Saturday's fight that he weighed 178 pounds Monday, meaning he cut more than 22 pounds of weight in five days to come in at 155.75 pounds in Las Vegas.

'Thursday night was probably one of the darkest nights of my life, cutting that weight,' Felder said in his postfight interview.

While Felder had been training for a triathlon, he admitted that he did almost no MMA training recently.

'I was in really good cardio shape,' Felder said. '... I had not stepped foot in an MMA gym in four months. That was based on pure endurance training and pad work.'

Ufc Felder Vs Dos Anjos

Felder looked slick and fast on the feet throughout. He cut dos Anjos with a punch in the first and let loose with solid combinations in every round. But the mix of powerful striking, clinch work and takedowns earned dos Anjos the victory. In the fourth, dos Anjos opened a cut over Felder's right eye with a jab. Felder was pouring blood the rest of the way.

'He's tough as nails,' dos Anjos said. 'It's really hard to fight a guy when, like he said, he had nothing to lose. It's really hard to fight the guys with that mindset. I had a lot on the line and he came strong. ... He kept pushing. He has a big heart.'

The card took place in front of no fans at the UFC Apex, a venue across from the UFC's Vegas corporate campus.

Dos Anjos (30-13) had spent three years at welterweight prior to this bout. He had lost four of his past five fights coming in, all against welterweight contenders. Dos Anjos held the UFC lightweight title in 2015 and 2016. He has vowed to get there again during this latest run at 155 pounds -- and Saturday was a great start.

Felder (17-6) dropped a split decision to Dan Hooker in his last bout in February. Before that, the Philadelphia native had won five of six. Felder, 35, is known as one of the most exciting fighters in the lightweight division. He had been contemplating retirement after the Hooker loss, saying he wanted to come back only for fights that enticed him. Those retirement thoughts are no more, Felder said.

'I can tell you guys with certainty: I'm not going anywhere right now,' Felder said.

Mookie Alexander & Dayne Fox are here to breakdown the UFC VEGAS 14: ‘FELDER VS RDA’ event, which was broadcast from Las Vegas, Nevada’s #UFCAPEX Center. The guys will have hot takes, possible next fights, as well as reactions to the overall event in the player above or on our Bloody Elbow Presents YouTube Channel and BE Presents Podcast Network. (SPOILERS...)

Tonight, Sat., Nov. 14th., 2020, the UFC showcased a Fight Night event featuring a Lightweight bout. We had Paul “The Irish Dragon” Felder vs. ‘RDA’ Rafael dos Anjos going at it in the main event of the UFC VEGAS 14 card.

Overall, this nine-bout card saw just one swift finish in Rd 1, no submissions, only two exciting, yet brief KO/TKO’s, & seven decisions, two split. Rounding things out, bonuses for putting forth POTN efforts went to Sean Strickland and Khaos Williams; FOTN honors went to Paul Felder vs. Rafael Dos Anjos tonight. What a wild night full of fights we have to share with you!

Paul Felder, entered the octagon on five days’ notice, stepping away from the commentary table, as the #6 Best UFC Lightweight, making him an easy favorite, despite having lost his last bout against Dan Hooker at UFC on ESPN+ 26; via controversial Split Decision back in February of this year. Prior to that, he was on a two-fight win streak. The impressive striker now holds a 17-5 record. The 36-year-old Philly native, was pitted up against our opponent, former Lightweight Champion, the #16 current best Welterweight veteran ‘RDA’ Rafael dos Anjos; RDA fighting his 30th fight in the UFC over the past 12 years. Our Brazilian combatant, was coming off a two-fight losing streak, holding an impressive 29-13 fight record, and entered the octagon a slight underdog. The 36-year-old grappler had a 3” height deficit and 1/2” reach deficit going against him in his efforts to defeat ‘The Irish Dragon’ tonight... but that didn’t matter when it was all said and done, RDA walked away with the ‘W’, via split decision. Directly after the fight, RDA indicated his next bout should be against Conor McGregor.

Also on the card, a lightening fast Welterweight scrap for our co-main event; it was an almost instantaneous bout between the younger competitor, 26-year old “Khaos” ‘The Oxfighter’ Williams, who entered the octagon an underdog for his second fight in the UFC, despite having a debut which featured a 30-second knockout; he took on Abdul ‘Judo Thunder’ Razak Alhassan, with a 10-3 fight record, at 35-years of age, coming at this bout under the banner of Fortis MMA out of Texas; having lost his last bout against Mounir Lazzaz earlier this year in July, via Unanimous Decision. As if that’s not enough, we also had an exciting, women’s Strawweight tilt between Ashley ‘The Spider Monkey’ Yoder, who faced off against up-and-comer, Miranda ‘Danger’ Granger - which was preceded by a decent, albeit brief undercard (this event saw eight cancelled bouts by the time fight night rolled around); Join us to discuss all the action...

Here’s a look at the UFC VEGAS 14: ‘FELDER VS RDA’ RESULTS & UPDATED FIGHT RECORDS:

ESPN+ MAIN CARD SAT. NOV 14

9. 155lbs - Rafael dos Anjos (30-13) DEF. Paul Felder (17-6) - DEC, Split

8. 170lbs - Khaos Williams (11-1) DEF. Abdul Razão Alhassan (10-3) - KO/TKO, Straight Right at 30 seconds of Round 1

7. 115lbs - Ashley Yoder (8-6) DEF. Miranda Granger (7-2) - DEC, Unanimous

6. 195lbs - Sean Strickland (22-3) DEF. Brendan Allen (15-4) - KO/TKO, Punches at 1:32 of Rd 2, Total 6:32

5. 115lbs - Cory McKenna (6-1) DEF. Kay Hansen (7-4) - DEC, Unanimous

4. 115lbs - Kanako Murata (12-1) DEF. Randa Markos (10-10) - DEC, Unanimous

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: ($50K ea.) Paul Felder vs. Rafael Dos Anjos

PERFORMANCES OF THE NIGHT: ($50K ea.) 1. Sean Strickland2.Khaos Williams

ESPN+ PRELIMS

3. 135lbs - Tony Gravely (20-6) DEF. Geraldo de Freitas (12-6) - DEC, SPLIT

2. 170lbs - Alex Morono (18-6) DEF. Rhys McKee (10-4) - DEC, Unanimous

1. 265lbs - Don’Tale Mayes (8-4) DEF. Roque Martinez (15-7) - DEC, Unanimous

Ufc Felder Vs

Be sure to follow Mookie - @MookieAlexander & Dayne - @TheDayneFox; and follow @BloodyElbow on twitter for all the latest in MMA happenings. Bloody Elbow Presents is a mixed martial arts podcast network presented to you by Bloody Elbow. Share & Subscribe on any of our podcast platforms below to get the latest in MMA News, MMA Features, UFC Interviews, daily MMA Podcasts, UFC Fight Previews, Post-Fight Shows & More!

Ufc Felder Vs

If you enjoyed our show, give us a shout out in the comments here on Bloody Elbow, or give us a “like”, share & subscribe over on whichever BE Presents Podcast Channel happens to be your listening platform of choice: SoundCloud, YouTube, iTunes & Apple TV, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play, TuneIn, OverCast, or Player FM, & NOW AMAZON MUSIC! – While you’re there, don’t forget to subscribe to Bloody Elbow Presents; that way you’ll always be the first to get all of BE’s daily MMA offerings. For previous episodes of the show, check out our playlists on all of our BE Presents channels.