Robbie Lawler vs. Rafael dos Anjos to headline UFC’s next FOX special
The UFC announced today that a battle of former champions will headline the company’s next FOX special as Robbie Lawler, the former welterweight champion, will face Rafael dos Anjos, the former lightweight champion.
The next FOX special will air on December 16th from the MTS Centre in Winnipeg.
With the show headlining on FOX, the winner would have a strong case for a title shot at welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, who is currently out of action with a torn labrum.
Lawler, who is currently ranked as the number one contender for the title, has a 28-11 record with one no contest. He lost the title to Woodley via first round stoppage and has yet to get a rematch, but also hasn’t pushed hard for it.
Dos Anjos, 27-9, is ranked fifth in the division. Dos Anjos had a strong run at lightweight before losing the title to Eddie Alvarez. Then, after losing to Tony Ferguson, he moved up saying the weight cut had been difficult. He moved to welterweight and has beaten Tarec Saffiedine and Neil Magny.
The other top fight currently on the show is Glover Teixeira (26-6) vs. Misha Cirkunov (13-3). Cirkunov had won eight fights in a row before being knocked out in 28 seconds by Volkan Oezdemir on May 28th in Stockholm.
Tickets for the show go on sale to the public on October 20th, and to Fight Club members on October 18th.
Other fights UFC has announced for the show are:
- Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Jared Cannnonier
- Tim Elliott vs. Justin Scoggins
- Chad Laprise vs. Galore Bofando
- John Makdessi vs. Abel Trujillo
- Nordine Taleb vs. Sultan Aliev
- Alessio DiChirico vs. Oluwale Bamgbose
- Vitor Miranada vs. Julian Marquez