Rafael dos Anjos wants a big fight next.
The former UFC lightweight champion called out Conor McGregor following his latest win in the octagon this past Saturday. Dos Anjos (32-14 MMA, 21-12 UFC) defeated fellow veteran Bryan Barberena (19-8 MMA, 10-6 UFC) by submission in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN 42 and then took the mic and challenged the Irish superstar.
Dos Anjos feels he’s done enough to deserve a fight of that magnitude.
“Look at my resume, I fought everybody,” dos Anjos said at the post-fight press conference (via MMA Fighting). “I need to fight somebody, I think I earned this fight. I will not ask UFC for extra crazy paydays, I just want to have that fight. And yeah, July works perfect for me. We’ll see what happens.”
Dos Anjos was expected to face McGregor in 2016 for his second title defense. However, the Brazilian was forced out of the fight after breaking his foot in training and was replaced by Nate Diaz. Dos Anjos would go on to lose his title to Eddie Alvarez upon return, and the McGregor fight never came back around.
A lot has happened since the two were paired to fight. Currently, McGregor is inactive, as he’s recovering from a leg injury. He’s out of the USADA testing pool and appears to have gained noticeable muscle mass.
When asked if he thought McGregor was on performance-enhancing drugs, dos Anjos’s answer was yes.
“Yeah, he’s out of USADA,” dos Anjos said. “Why he’s out of the pool? His body looks so different, but I’ll give him some time to get clear.”
