Rafael dos Anjos turned heads with his winning performance over Neil Magny on Saturday night in his second bout at welterweight
The Brazilian’s first round submission acted a real statement of intent to the welterweight division, including 170-pound champion Tyron Woodley.
Following the win, dos Anjos confirmed that he is eyeing a shot at Woodley’s title and that both men are certain to meet in the octagon, sooner or later:
“This division’s wide open; all the top-five, top-six guys in this division have lost to the champion or to the last challenger, which was Demian Maia,” dos Anjos told reporters after UFC 215 (h/t MMAJunkie.com). “(Stephen) Thompson lost twice to Woodley already. I’m the new blood in this division. I was getting ready to fight Woodley if Maia didn’t take the fight, but he ended up taking the fight. But I was getting ready for it, so here I am.”
“One thing I can be sure, is [Woodley and I] are going to fight,” dos Anjos added. “I’m not going to let him walk around, and I’m going to make sure I push the pace. I’m not saying I will not use my strategy. Of course I will. But I will walk forward. I have confidence in me, in my cardio, and I’m going to make him work.”
While former lightweight champ, dos Anjos, is eying his second title in a second weight class, Woodley confirms that he holds similar ambitions:
“Well, I’ve got a Gucci belt you can have,” Woodley said following UFC 215. “I’ve got a Louis Vuitton belt you can have, but the welterweight gold, the 14 pounds, brother, it’s going to be a long time before I give that up.”
“I didn’t take (the callout) personally,” Woodley continued. “All I’m saying is there are a lot of guys in my division. They always put them in front of me, and everyone thinks they have the solution to beat me. But I think I’m the most well-rounded fighter. I punch the hardest in the UFC of all the fighters. And he’s a great fighter. He’s a former world champion. I do think one or two more fights in the division, with a great performance like he had this evening, we will see him on the other side of the octagon. At that point, we’ll be ready to roll.”
“[But] I want to fight at middleweight,” Woodley concluded. “So, I’m thinking about taking a trip up to middleweight.”
