{"id":234469,"date":"2017-04-18T09:16:31","date_gmt":"2017-04-18T16:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=234469"},"modified":"2017-04-18T09:16:31","modified_gmt":"2017-04-18T16:16:31","slug":"rafael-dos-anjos-believes-skills-become-ufc-welterweight-champ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/rafael-dos-anjos\/rafael-dos-anjos-believes-skills-become-ufc-welterweight-champ\/","title":{"rendered":"Rafael Dos Anjos outlines plans to become UFC welterweight champ"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier this year, former UFC welterweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos announced his intention to move up to the welterweight division, citing a tiresome cut to the lightweight division’s 155-pound cap as the reason for the move. After being called out by several dangerous welterweights \u2013 such as the rising Colby Covington<\/a> \u2013 Dos Anjos was ultimately pencilled in for a welterweight debut opposite former Strikeforce welterweight champ Tarec Saffiedine. The pair will battle on June 17 in Singapore<\/a>, not far from Evolve MMA were Dos Anjos has done much of his recent training.<\/p>\n

In advance of this anticipated showdown, Dos Anjos spoke with MMAFighting.com<\/a> to discuss the fight itself<\/a> and his future in the division:<\/p>\n

“I think Tarec Saffiedine is a great opponent for my first fight at welterweight,\u201d the former lightweight king said. “That\u2019s exactly what I wanted, a top-10 [opponent]. I\u2019m a former lightweight champion and I believe I deserved to fight someone ranked, and Tarec is also a former world champion, a former Strikeforce champion. It\u2019s going to be a great fight.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dos Anjos then touched on the challenges of this fight with Saffiedine, and how he plans to win:<\/p>\n

“There\u2019s no easy path [to victory], especially at the highest level, but I will use all my game,\u201d he said. “I think that something I haven’t used much in my fights is my wrestling, my jiu-jitsu, but I\u2019m a complete fighter. But I will trade with him, and if he gives me opportunities there, I will use my game. I\u2019ll walk forward the entire time, like I always do. I think I\u2019ll be stronger in this division, won\u2019t suffer with that violent weight cut. I think I will perform better in this weight class.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Tarec<\/p>\n

Dos Anjos also explained that he’s been sparring with larger training partners like middleweight champ Michael Bisping<\/a> to prepare for this challenge.<\/p>\n

“I have been sparring with bigger guys,” he said. “[I] trained a few times with Michael Bisping and the guys Bisping takes to the gym.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ultimately, of course, Dos Anjos’ goal is to work his way through the welterweight top-10 and earn himself the divisional crown \u00a0\u2013 something he believes he can do.<\/p>\n

\n

“I believe that a win would put me in the top 10,\u201d dos Anjos said. “When you fight the champion and win, you become the champion. If you beat the No. 10 [fighter], you become the No. 10. I think [beating Saffiedine] puts me in this mix, and that\u2019s my goal.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

“No rush, but my goal is the welterweight belt,\u201d he continued. “I think I have what it takes to get there. But I\u2019ll do at welterweight what I did at lightweight, no rush. I\u2019ll slowly get there. I have the qualities to get there. But a win over Tarec Saffiedine will definitely put me in this mix.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Do you think Rafael Dos Anjos is capable of capturing welterweight gold? Sound off, PENN Nation!<\/p>\n

This article first appeared on\u00a0<\/i>BJPenn.com<\/i><\/span><\/a>\u00a0on 4\/18\/2017.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earlier this year, former UFC welterweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos announced his intention to move up to the welterweight division, citing a tiresome cut to the lightweight division’s 155-pound cap as the reason for the move. After being called out by several dangerous welterweights \u2013 such as the rising Colby Covington \u2013 Dos Anjos was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54430,"featured_media":167093,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[10109,10360],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nRafael Dos Anjos outlines plans to become UFC welterweight champ | BJPenn.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos plans to beat Tarec Saffiedine in Singapore and march on to the UFC welterweight title.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/rafael-dos-anjos\/rafael-dos-anjos-believes-skills-become-ufc-welterweight-champ\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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