UFC 272 results and fight highlights: Rafael dos Anjos vs. Renato Moicano
The co-main event at UFC 272 featured a catchweight scrap between Renato Moicano and former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos.
Co-main event time. Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos takes on Renato Moicano, who is coming in on just four days’ notice. Moicano was in Brazil on Monday when he got the call. The agreement wasn’t done until Tuesday. And here he is. #UFC272
The fight proved to be a rough day at work for Moicano, who stepped in on very short notice for the five-round co-main event. Dos Anjos dominated his fellow Brazilian for five rounds and scored a decision victory.
Absolute 𝐃𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 from @RdosAnjosMMA 😤
[ #UFC272 | We're LIVE on ESPN+ PPV: ufc.ac/3K36d8R ] https://t.co/wAg4Ub50Dp
A lot of drama took place before this co-main event got finalized. Dos Anjos was initially supposed to fight Rafael Fiziev in a five-round scrap. Unfortunately, Fiziev had to step out of the fight as he contracted COVID-19. Then there was talk of Islam Makhachev, who recently scored an impressive win over Bobby Green, stepping in on short notice to take on the Brazilian.
The two even went back-and-forth on social media, expressing their interest in fighting each other.
However, it was Moicano who was selected as Fiziev's replacement. The fight got scheduled as a catchweight bout at 160 pounds.
Before UFC 272, dos Anjos competed over a year ago in November 2020 against Paul Felder and secured a split decision victory. Moicano, on the other hand, recently submitted Alexander Hernandez at UFC 271.
Dos Anjos, who was preparing for a 25-minute fight in the lead-up to UFC 272, used his grappling skills to take Moicano down in the first round and land strikes on him from the top. The story was very similar in the second round.
In the third round, dos Anjos landed a head kick on Moicano that put the 32-year-old in trouble.
#UFC272
FLUSH. 😬 #UFC272 https://t.co/e8jNe7wZhE
The fight went to the ground, and dos Anjos proceeded to land heavy shots on his opponent from the top. It appeared the bout could end anytime, but Moicano managed to weather the storm.
The Dr is suppose to protect the fighter. This was an opportunity https://t.co/A1htQN9hag
At the end of the third round, a doctor checked on Moicano and decided to let the fight go on.
It’s absurd this fight made it into the 5th and even more absurd Moicano still had it in him to swing like this. Unreal. https://t.co/xewx2PyhRh
How did this go all five rounds 🤯
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To the surprise of many, the fight went the full 25-minute distance and ended in a unanimous decision victory for the former lightweight champion. The three judges scored the contest 49-45, 49-44, and 50-44 in Rafael dos Anjos' favor.
Rafael dos Anjos registers his 20th UFC win after UFC 272
With a dominant decision victory at UFC 272, Rafael dos Anjos scored his 20th win in the promotion. Jim Miller, Donald Cerrone, Andrei Arlovski, and Demian Maia are the only fighters with more wins than the Brazilian in the promotion.
Rafael dos Anjos is the 10th fighter in UFC history to join the 20-win club. #UFC272 https://t.co/jJ1vxibjCZ
The Brazilian has fought the best of the best over the years. During his run in the UFC, the 37-year-old has scored victories over several high-level fighters like Robbie Lawler, Paul Felder, Nate Diaz, Neil Magny, Anthony Pettis, and Benson Henderson.
In his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, dos Anjos said that he wished for Jorge Masvidal to win his fight against Colby Covington so that 'Gamebred' and him could fight for the BMF belt.
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