"The only reason that fifth round was competitive" - Chael Sonnen hails "gentleman" Rafael dos Anjos for his final-round approach against Renato Moicano

Chael Sonnen [left], Rafael dos Anjos [right]

Chael Sonnen thinks Rafael dos Anjos' sportsmanship caused his fight with Renato Moicano to go the distance.

The former UFC lightweight champion displayed his exceptional striking against Moicano during their co-main event clash at UFC 272. It was a one-sided bout, with the older of the two Brazilians clearly obliterating his peer.

Moicano incurred so much damage that 'RDA' admitted post-fight that he thought the doctor would stop the bout. However, the fight went into the final round and dos Anjos had no choice but to continue fighting until the final horn.

What a display of heart on show from Renato Moicano!

🇧🇷 @RDosAnjosMMA no doubt the victor here, but to go the distance on four days notice! 👏 #UFC272 https://t.co/mQfTkGUblP

Chael Sonnen concluded that had 'RDA' decided to completely dismantle Moicano at one point during the fight, it would've ended in a TKO stoppage. However, he believes that, surprisingly, dos Anjos was "gentleman" enough to choose not to damage his opponent even more.

In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Sonnen explained:

“The only reason that fifth round was competitive is because RDA, in addition to every other beautiful thing I said about him, also happens to be a gentleman. He also happens to be a sportsman. He happened to respect what was going on, whether agreed with it or not, he’s gonna make the best of it, he’s going to fix the situation himself. That’s what happened there.”

Check out Sonnen's comments on the fight below:

Rafael dos Anjos is open to rekindling his past with Conor McGregor

In 2016, Rafael dos Anjos was slated for a blockbuster lightweight title bout against Conor McGregor. Unfortunately, the Brazilian was forced to withdraw from the fight due to injury and Nate Diaz took his place.

After beating Moicano, 'RDA' was asked about his thoughts on possibly facing McGregor next. According to the former lightweight king, he would be more than happy to revisit his botched UFC clash with 'The Notorious'.

Rafael dos Anjos also emphasized that he's not just looking for any other opponent, but a big-name one. For obvious reasons, McGregor certainly ticks all the boxes.

In his post-fight press conference, 'RDA' said:

"Conor is a big name. It's always a lot of pay-per-view, he sells a lot of pay-per-view, that'll be a big money fight of course and we have kind of, we have a history too... I'm looking for names that make me want to go to the gym and train. I don't wanna fight names that don't interest me."

Catch dos Anjos' appearance at the post-fight presser below: