Rafael dos Anjos snaps two-fight losing run with submission win over Kevin Lee
Rafael dos Anjos is back in the win column at welterweight after submitting Kevin Lee with an arm-triangle choke at UFC Rochester.
“RDA” fell short in his last two Octagon outing, suffering unanimous decision losses to Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman.
The former UFC lightweight champion had to weather a storm against Lee, who was making his welterweight debut.
Lee started strong and took the fight to dos Anjos. The Michigan native was seemingly hell-bent on pushing the Brazilian to the cage fence with his strikes before working the takedown.
RDA, a well-established and decorated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, made Lee pay for each takedown or takedown attempt, with smart sweeps and escapes which eventually wore on Lee’s energy reserves.
On top of that, dos Anjos at times mixed in takedowns of his own, as well as putting plenty of bodyshots in the bank to make sure Lee’s stamina would not hold up in the later rounds.
Dos Anjos displayed the kind of fight IQ befitting a fighter who has been on the UFC books for almost 11 years.
The finish came in round four as RDA’s leg kick took one of Lee’s feet from under him.
Lee desperately drove for a takedown but dos Anjos had his number, taking his back before forcing his way into full-mount. From there, he expertly transitioned into an arm-triangle choke which forced Lee to tap.
Impressive performance from dos Anjos. As for Lee, while it was an unsuccessful debut at 170 pounds, his early display shows he could make a good go at being a UFC welterweight as long as he can maintain the frenetic pace he likes fighting at.
UFC Rochester: Rafael dos Anjos vs. Kevin Lee full results
Welterweight: Rafael dos Anjos def. Kevin Lee by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 3:47 of round four
Middleweight: Ian Heinisch def. Antonio Carlos Junior by unanimous decision after three rounds
Women’s Featherweight: Felicia Spencer def. Megan Anderson by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:24 of round one
Welterweight: Vicente Luque def. Derrick Krantz by TKO (punches) at 3:52 of round one
Lightweight: Charles Oliveira def. Nik Lentz by TKO (strikes) at 2:11 of round two
Lightweight: Davi Ramos def. Austin Hubbard by unanimous decision after three rounds
Women’s Bantamweight: Aspen Ladd def. Sijara Eubanks by unanimous decision after three rounds
Lightweight: Desmond Green def. Charles Jourdain by unanimous decision after three rounds
Welterweight: Michel Pereira def. Danny Roberts by KO (flying knee) at 1:47 of round one
Featherweight: Grant Dawson def. Michael Trizano by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:27 of round two
Light Heavyweight: Ed Herman def. Patrick Cummins by TKO (knee and punches) at 3:39 of round one
Middleweight: Zak Cummings def. Trevin Giles by submission (guillotine choke) at 4:01 of round three
Featherweight: Julio Arce def. Julian Erosa by KO (head kick) at 1:49 of round three
