Dos Anjos cruises to win over Felder in UFC main event
Rafael dos Anjos shined in his return to the lightweight division.
The former champion defeated Paul Felder via split decision (47-48, 50-45, 50-45) in the UFC Fight Night main event Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
"I'm not too happy with my performance," Dos Anjos said in his postfight interview, according to MMA Fighting's Damon Martin. "It was my first fight back in the lightweight division. I feel there's more adjustments I need to make."
Dos Anjos' takedowns made the difference. He got Felder to the mat in all five rounds and started to pull away in the second half of the fight, controlling his opponent and punishing him with ground-and-pound.
Felder, the No. 7-ranked lightweight, stepped in on five days' notice for Islam Makhachev, who withdrew due to an injury. "The Irish Dragon" revealed postfight he hadn't stepped into an MMA gym in four months and had to cut 22 pounds in five days.
Felder had his moments and hung tough as he usually does. He and Dos Anjos exchanged shots throughout the main event, both attacking with kicks and punches. However, Dos Anjos ultimately did more damage in 25 minutes of action.
The Brazilian snapped a two-fight skid with the victory. He also became the second fighter to pass seven hours of UFC cage time, joining former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, according to MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn.
This was Dos Anjos' first lightweight bout since November 2016 and first win in the division since a title defense against Donald Cerrone in December 2015.
Dos Anjos moved to welterweight in 2017 after struggling to make weight at 155 pounds and suffering back-to-back losses against Eddie Alvarez and Tony Ferguson.
His 170-pound run started with three consecutive victories, including a lopsided decision against former champ Robbie Lawler. Dos Anjos then hit a slump, going 1-4 over his next five bouts, which eventually prompted him to return to his old division.
Felder, 36, has now lost two straight fights.