Rafael Dos Anjos further solidified himself as the No. 1 contender for the UFC welterweight championship on Saturday in Winnipeg at UFC on Fox 26. Dos Anjos beat down Robbie Lawler en route to a dominant unanimous-decision victory (50-45x).
After scoring wins over Tarec Saffiediene and Neil Magny, Dos Anjos has now stormed his way up the welterweight rankings and put himself in a position to challenge Tyron Woodley for the belt. Woodley is currently recuperating from shoulder surgery, but depending on his recovery time, it seems his next challenge is awaiting him.
Lawler fought valiantly, but he appeared to injure his leg at some point during the fight. It was unclear whether the injury was a result of the outside leg kicks Dos Anjos landed, but Lawler looked compromised in the third, fourth and fifth rounds.
Wait, DC wasn't joking. Lawler was ACTUALLY SMILING!!#UFCWinnipeg pic.twitter.com/EbZd6V0zar
— UFC (@ufc) December 17, 2017
Here is a look at all of the results from the evening, the attendance and gate numbers as well as the bonus winners.
- Attendance: 8,862
- Gate: $1,005,273.75 in CAD
Matchup | Weight Class | Results | Bonus |
Nordine Taleb vs. Danny Roberts | Welterweight | Taleb by First-Round KO | POTN - Taleb |
Jordan Mein vs. Erick Silva | Welterweight | Mein (30-27x2, 30-26) | |
Alessio Di Chirico vs. Oluwale Bamgbose | Middleweight | Di Chirico by Second-Round KO | POTN - Di Chirico |
John Makdessi vs. Abel Trujillo | Lightweight | Makdessi by Unanimous Decision (30-27x3) | |
Chad Laprise vs. Galore Bofando | Welterweight | Laprise by First-Round TKO | |
Julian Marquez vs. Darren Stewart | Middleweight | Marquez by Second-Round SUB (Go-Go Choke) | FOTN |
Jared Cannonier vs. Jan Blachowicz | Light Heavyweight | Blachowicz by Unanimous Decision (29-28x3) | |
Glover Teixeira vs. Misha Cirkunov | Light Heavyweight | Teixeira by First-Round TKO | |
Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Mike Perry | Welterweight | Ponzinibbio by Unanimous Decision (29-28x3) | |
Ricardo Lamas vs. Josh Emmett | Men's Featherweight | Emmett by First-Round KO | |
Robbie Lawler vs. Rafael Dos Anjos | Welterweight | Dos Anjos by Unanimous Decision (50-45x3) |
Marquez Is Exciting
The UFC has seen Julian Marquez is two fights and in both bouts, he has put on a quite a show. After a stunning head-kick KO of Phillip Hawes on Dana White Tuesday Night Contender, Marquez scored a submission victory over Darren Stewart. Without question, it was the Fight of the Night.
These two guys let it all hang out with strikes and non-stop action. At times, it appeared Stewart had the upper hand, but his stamina failed him late. A sloppy shot put him in a position for this choke:
Julian Marquez lands a huge elbow, Stewart shoots and gets caught in a guillotine. Lights out. #marquez #darrenstewart #julianmarquez #guillotine #lawlerdosanjos #ufc #ufcwinnipeg pic.twitter.com/8MnononrAT
— SmackTalkFighting (@SmackTalkmma) December 17, 2017
Marquez's postfight interview was almost as entertaining as his fight. He challenged Tyron Woodley to a "beard off," and UFC President Dana White applauded Marquez's performance:
DAMN!!!!!!! Welcome to the UFC Julian Marquez!!! AMAZING fight #ufconfox pic.twitter.com/koCgXsrh4m
— Dana White (@danawhite) December 17, 2017
Oh my...
Is he about to call out @TWooodley...
The battle of the beards is on. #UFCWinnipeg pic.twitter.com/spumYEmavN
— UFC (@ufc) December 17, 2017
Emmett Smokes Lamas
Josh Emmett stepped in as a late replacement for Jose Aldo, missed weight and then scored an electrifying one-punch KO win over Ricardo Lamas in the first round.
JOSH EMMETT JUST DID THAT! #UFCWinnipeg https://t.co/IPczOPocj0
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) December 17, 2017
From the beginning of the fight, Emmett was throwing every shot with bad intentions. The left hook connected and Lamas' lights went out. Without question, this was deserving of one of the Performances of the Night bonuses, but it went uncrowned because Emmett would have had to surrender it because he didn't make weight.
Taleb Burns Hot Chocolate
Nordine Taleb is 35 years old, but he's not washed up. The UFC veteran stopped Danny Roberts after landing a right high kick and hard right hand.
LIGHTNING QUICK! @TNT83MMA #UFCWinnipeg pic.twitter.com/Bz0GQBQDT0
— UFC (@ufc) December 16, 2017
Roberts was upset with the stoppage, but he was clearly out momentarily. The stoppage was just as Roberts could have sustained more damage had the fight not been halted.
Di Chirico Sleeps Bamgbose
Oluwale Bamgbose's gameplan was to use his movement to frustrate Alessio Di Chirico. Instead, it only prolonged the inevitable. Di Chirico used a well-placed knee in the clinch to knock Bamgbose out cold.
Alessio Di Chirico KO's Oluwale Bamgbose with a clinical knee! #UFCWinnipeg https://t.co/BKrRoFjuah
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) December 16, 2017
At one time, I had high hopes for Bamgbose, but he has failed to capture victories over multiple levels of competition in the UFC. He may be in danger of being released the next time the ax falls.