'I had my last title run': Former UFC champ Rafael dos Anjos wants veteran matchups

Following his most recent defeat, former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos announced on his social media that he no longer intends to pursue gold in the Octagon. Dos Anjos is not done fighting yet but wants to have fun fights before he says goodbye to combat sports.

On Twitter, RDA explained his reasons in a post and revealed some outstanding names in UFC he wishes to fight. He wants a contest against a name that will encourage him to train hard. Although he came back to the lightweight division back in 2020, It would not be an issue for the Brazilian to move up a division for some special matchups.

Dos Anjos won the lightweight title at UFC 185 in 2015 by defeating Anthony Pettis by unanimous decision. But his reign as a champion was a short run he was only able to defend his title against the UFC legend Donald Cerrone before losing it to Eddie Alvarez in July 2016. Since then, it has been a rollercoaster ride for the former champion in the UFC as he stepped in against distinguished available fighters in the lightweight and welterweight divisions like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington, Robbie Lawler, Benson Henderson, Anthony Pettis, and countless others.

Before the move back down to 155lbs, ‘RDA’ lost back-to-back decisions to Michael Chiesa and Leon Edwards. On his return to the lightweight division, RDA won via a split decision over Paul Felder in November 2020.

Since his return after a long layoff of 15 months in March 2022, Dos Anjos's record remains 1-1. He defeated Renato Moicano in a catchweight bout at 160lb. In his second outing of the calendar year, he faced a devastating loss against an uprising lightweight Rafael Fiziev. Fiziev ended the bout in the early seconds of the fifth round of the main event.

On paper, all these fights make logic as Jim Miller has been in the UFC for a long time and is an absolute icon of the sport. Jorge Masvidal has been very much active on social media these as he is without an opponent now. A match with Tony Ferguson and Clay Guida will be an interesting reply as RDA was not able beat them in the octagon. Let's see, what UFC has to offer the former champion for his next fight after this announcement.