Rafael Dos Anjos previews his UFC fight night clash with Vicente Luque
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00:00 (silence)
00:02 - Morning, how are you?
00:11 - Morning, very good, thank you.
00:12 - All right, so I'm looking at the official UFC rankings
00:15 I have right up here in front of me.
00:17 They still have you listed at number nine,
00:18 so you're top 10 in the lightweight division.
00:21 What was it about the welterweight division now
00:23 and this matchup that made you guys wanna sign up for it?
00:28 - I think for me to compete at lightweight
00:30 it's been pretty hard.
00:32 I'll be 39 in October and I feel good at welterweight.
00:37 I fought in this division before,
00:39 fought for the title in that division,
00:41 went in distance with the champion.
00:43 And yeah, I decided to make the move, move up
00:48 and that's the way that I'm gonna be fighting,
00:52 that I'm gonna be competing now.
00:55 - Okay, so a win in the main event on Saturday
00:59 would obviously put you in the top 10 of welterweight.
01:02 It sounds like you're saying you wouldn't go back down
01:04 to lightweight again, this is official?
01:07 - Yeah, that's official.
01:08 If I have a fight that, like a super fight
01:13 that I'm gonna make very good amount of money,
01:16 I'll do that and I see that I still have this fight
01:21 on Saturday and six more under my contract.
01:24 I could tell you if it was a lightweight fight,
01:29 I could maybe fight three more times, four more times,
01:31 to be honest with you.
01:32 It's just too hard on my body and I think at welterweight
01:37 I can go longer, I can extend my career more.
01:41 - And you mentioned going five rounds with the champ.
01:44 I was there in San Antonio and I thought it was,
01:47 you know, you're one of the best strikers in the UFC,
01:50 best boxers and you know, Leon is known as one of the best
01:54 but he wasn't willing to really trade with you.
01:57 He wanted to work a lot in the clinch
01:58 and work a lot of buckets in the cage.
02:00 This says a lot about your striking.
02:01 Do you think that Vincent Luque takes the same approach?
02:05 - Yeah, he could but like, it's hard to,
02:10 I watch, you know, like watch all his fights.
02:13 He always come to trade and he gets hits a lot too
02:17 and he takes punch so I'll take advantage of it
02:22 and yeah, but like I'm ready for any situation.
02:27 I've been working a lot on my clinch,
02:28 shoot a lot of my ground game, wrestling.
02:30 With team Novo Neo, it's been great for me being in Brazil
02:33 for, you know, the last, past two and a half years
02:37 but yeah, he could, he could take that route.
02:39 - Like we mentioned, you fought the champion.
02:43 You also fought the newest challenger in Colby Covington
02:47 so I just wonder if you have any predictions
02:48 for the welterweight title fight.
02:51 - Yeah, I think it's a very tough matchup.
02:56 I would say like 60, 40, like maybe 60% of chance
03:03 for Colby win this fight.
03:05 I gave Colby a slightly advantage, you know,
03:08 his wrestling skills and he got a pretty good stand up too
03:13 but I think he's gonna mix it up more with the takedowns
03:18 than Ousmane did and he's gonna,
03:22 he have better chance than Leon Edwards.
03:25 - And just one more for me.
03:28 As I mentioned, you know,
03:29 you're one of the best boxers in the UFC.
03:31 Two of your former opponents fought
03:35 this past weekend in boxing.
03:36 I wanna know what your thoughts are on MMA fighters,
03:39 particularly UFC fighters who are kind of better days
03:43 or behind them trying to go and box.
03:46 They haven't really made a great showing.
03:49 Do you agree with that statement or what's your opinion?
03:51 - Yeah, was Nate Diaz, who else?
03:54 - Nate Diaz and Jeremy Stevens was also on the court.
03:56 - He was on the court, yeah.
03:58 Man, I think MMA is too hard, you know, it's really hard.
04:03 It's hard to make a career, it's hard to train for.
04:06 You have to strike, you have to knee,
04:08 you have to train on the ground and wrestling, everything.
04:12 So I think for guys that make the transition for boxing,
04:17 it's because it's a much easier training.
04:20 You don't have to suffer as much for a boxing camp
04:25 than you do on a MMA camp.
04:27 And yeah, and then Nate Diaz and Jake Paul,
04:31 he was way bigger than Nate.
04:33 And, but yeah, it wasn't, I didn't watch the whole fight,
04:38 I saw the results, but it wasn't a good performance.
04:42 - Thanks.
04:43 - You're welcome.
04:44 - Hi, it's been, I mean, you haven't fought this year yet.
04:47 I'm wondering, you know, what's been going on
04:49 in the time that you've been away
04:50 and how are you able to remain positive
04:52 that you'd be able to get back here
04:53 and have a big fight when you got back?
04:55 - Yeah, I was planning to fight in March this year,
05:00 but before my last fight,
05:02 I was on corticoids and antibiotics
05:05 like a week before the fight.
05:07 I've been suffering with chronic sinus
05:12 through allergies and all of that.
05:16 And I finally, February or March this year,
05:21 I got a surgery.
05:23 My doctor said, "You have three fractures in your nose."
05:27 Then I didn't even knew of three fractures on my nose.
05:31 And I fixed my nose and I, you know,
05:36 I cleaned all my sinus, all my, you know, everything.
05:41 Doctor said, "Hey, how could you fight?
05:43 "Because you can't breathe.
05:45 "How could you sleep?"
05:46 I was having a hard time to sleep as well.
05:49 And I was like that for years.
05:52 And I got the surgery this year,
05:55 and beginning of this year, and boom,
05:58 all my hormone levels went up,
06:00 like testosterone, everything else went up
06:03 because I'm able to sleep now.
06:05 And I'm able to get my rest.
06:07 And that's why it took longer to take this fight,
06:10 to fight because I got this surgery
06:11 in the beginning of the year.
06:13 - Have you noticed a difference in training,
06:15 just being like your cardio and everything being better?
06:17 - Definitely, definitely everything.
06:19 I don't feel my body, the soreness anymore.
06:25 Even when I have a hard session,
06:27 by the time I get home,
06:28 I'm able to lay down and sleep for a couple minutes,
06:31 you know, you know, and at night,
06:34 I feel like six hours, seven hours just pass,
06:38 you know, so fast because I'm, you know,
06:41 once I lay down in bed, they just pass out.
06:44 Because before, I was waking up during the night,
06:47 drinking water, 'cause I have, you know,
06:49 breathing through my mouth, getting dry mouth,
06:52 and drinking water, and going to the bathroom.
06:55 I couldn't sleep.
06:55 And I could see the difference in this fight camp.
06:59 - It seemed like you maybe moved your family here.
07:03 Is that correct, that you've moved full-time
07:05 back to the United States?
07:06 - Yeah, I was in Brazil for almost three years,
07:09 and lived in California for 10 years before Brazil.
07:14 And we are now in Austin, Texas.
07:17 - What was the decision to do that move?
07:20 - I went to Austin back in 2016 with my wife,
07:24 and she loves it.
07:25 She liked the city, and we always,
07:28 I have a good history with Texas too.
07:29 I wore my belt over there,
07:31 and I, you know, I love the state.
07:35 And, you know, we went there, and we like Austin,
07:40 and beginning of this year, we went there again.
07:43 And we saw a house, my wife loved the house,
07:47 and we put our offer, they accept our offer,
07:49 and so we move.
07:51 - Thank you.
07:51 - You're welcome.
07:52 - Hi, RDA.
07:54 There was a report that came out about Vicente's last fight.
07:58 He suffered a brain bleed.
08:00 What was your thoughts when you saw that?
08:04 - I don't know much about that.
08:05 I heard of, but I didn't went to, you know,
08:08 get it too much information.
08:09 Yeah, man, that's the sport.
08:12 It's brutal, and I hope he's fully recovered.
08:15 - Do you think Conor McGregor fights Michael Chandler?
08:19 - He fight whoever he wants, you know, he pick his fight.
08:24 So I think what makes sense, because of the show,
08:29 like, Conor, you know, like, to be honest with you,
08:34 I don't think Chandler deserve that fight.
08:37 There's other guys that deserve that fight.
08:39 But I think what makes sense because of the show,
08:42 and all of that, usually all the coaches fight
08:45 on the end of the show, but I don't know if this
08:48 the first time the coach didn't fight.
08:51 I don't know the statistics, but it will make sense.
08:54 But I don't think, to be honest with you,
08:57 nothing against Chandler, but I think that is all
08:59 the guys that deserve that fight.
09:01 - Who do you think deserves that fight,
09:03 other than yourself, obviously,
09:04 but like, who else do you think deserves to fight?
09:07 - Ah, man, I think Justin Gage,
09:09 he's a guy that has fought everybody,
09:11 who makes sense he got that fight.
09:13 Who else?
09:15 Myself.
09:17 And yeah, that was only those guys that come to my mind.
09:23 And yeah, that's all the couple guys
09:25 that's been on the game for very long,
09:28 deserve that fight.
09:31 - Obviously, you were scheduled to fight
09:33 Conor many years ago.
09:34 If you never get to fight him,
09:37 would that be disappointing?
09:39 - Not at all.
09:40 I have no frustrations on my career.
09:42 I'm a very, I feel like I have fulfillment in my career.
09:47 You know, I have no regrets, no, you know,
09:55 not disappointed.
09:56 If it don't happen, don't happen.
09:58 You know, like back in the days,
10:00 people start, you know,
10:01 "Oh man, you miss a lot of money,
10:02 you miss a good payday."
10:04 But I still have everything I want, you know,
10:07 I still have a good life.
10:09 God's been blessing me throughout the years.
10:11 And if don't happen, don't happen.
10:14 If it happen, great, you know, be,
10:16 that's, I just got disappointed with that
10:18 because I had never pull out of a fight, do injury.
10:23 And how holding the belt, having the belt,
10:26 being the lightweight champ I had to pull out
10:27 was pretty, not because of the fight money,
10:30 forget about that,
10:31 just because of missing the fight, you know.
10:34 - And finally, Justin Gaethje,
10:37 Dustin Poirier fought for the BMF title.
10:39 Many people think that you are one of the biggest
10:42 BMFs in the sport.
10:43 Would you like to fight for that title?
10:46 - I don't think I make the requirements for that fight
10:48 to fight for the BMF.
10:50 I'm a former champion.
10:51 So I held the interim belt,
10:54 not the interim, but the linear belt.
10:56 So guys that fight for that belt
10:58 was guys that never held the championship before.
11:02 - Makes sense. Thank you.
11:03 - Now that you're set in on fighting at welterweight,
11:06 I know the focus is fully on Vicente Luque,
11:08 but when you look at the other guys
11:09 on the welterweight roster,
11:10 are there any matchups that interest you?
11:12 - Yeah, that is, to be honest with you,
11:16 I don't know who is in the rankings.
11:17 I know Vicente is number 10,
11:19 but I don't look at the ranks anymore, you know?
11:24 Because back in the days, I've been in UFC for 15 years.
11:29 Will be complete 15 years in November.
11:32 So back in the days, everybody fights everybody
11:36 and whoever keeps winning,
11:38 eventually fight for the title.
11:41 So my goal now is keep winning my fights.
11:45 You know, like being a former champion,
11:48 I know the way for the belt is shorter, you know?
11:51 I remember back in 2017,
11:55 when I move up for the first time
11:58 and I fought Tarek Safieddine in Singapore.
12:00 By the time I got home, I say,
12:02 "Hey man, I'm way behind the rankings.
12:05 I'll probably never gonna fight
12:06 for the title of this division."
12:08 UFC call me, "Hey, Daniel Maia doesn't wanna take the fight
12:13 with Tyron Woodley, would you take it?"
12:15 So that's how this game works.
12:18 So beating Vicente now, everything can happen.
12:21 Somebody can get hurt and you know,
12:23 you know how this game change.
12:25 - For sure, and like you said,
12:26 you're approaching 15 years with the UFC.
12:29 When you look at your resume compared to Vicente,
12:32 obviously you have the experience side on that.
12:34 You think the experience can help you prevail
12:36 come out on top Saturday night?
12:38 - Yeah, definitely.
12:39 Especially in a five rounds fight,
12:42 I know that I'm able to push hard five minutes, 25 minutes.
12:47 I know myself, I've been doing that on fight camp
12:51 and I'm just happy man, to be here talking to you guys.
12:56 Almost 15 years in UFC, fighting a main event still,
13:00 you know, after all those years having, you know,
13:04 being on a main event, I'm really happy with that.
13:08 - Thank you. - You're welcome.
13:10 - You mentioned the 15 years,
13:11 you've been fighting for almost 20 years.
13:13 You know, you talked about, you know,
13:15 the things you have to do to take care of your body.
13:17 Do you still enjoy it as much as you've done in the past?
13:21 Does it still enjoy as much to fight now?
13:23 And what keeps you motivated?
13:25 What motivates you now to keep getting back in there?
13:27 - Yeah, I just feel like when something happen,
13:31 that I'm hurt, if I get hurt or something happen in training
13:35 just to lay down at home, I feel sick.
13:38 I just like, I can't stay at home.
13:40 I love training so much, my body needs that.
13:43 And people ask me, "Hey, when's the time to stop?"
13:48 And it's hard to tell.
13:50 Like, I think the first signs you see in your body,
13:53 when your body's not holding up anymore,
13:56 I don't see that yet.
13:57 I think the mind and the heart is the last, you know,
14:00 like you're gonna, because you're gonna try to keep pushing,
14:03 you know, your mind works the same,
14:05 your heart works the same, even when you're older,
14:07 but your body starts falling apart.
14:10 And I'm not there yet.
14:12 And my motivation is my, I got a four years old, man.
14:17 He's gonna be here on the Saturday night.
14:19 I bring my whole family.
14:20 I wanna give them this opportunity to be,
14:22 they all asking me, "Hey, I wanna go to your fight, dad."
14:25 And I'll bring my whole family.
14:27 So I know this chapter gonna, it's gonna finish one day,
14:32 and I'm not gonna be fighting anymore.
14:33 And I want them to have that experience,
14:37 to be here on fight week with me, fight night, after fight.
14:40 I would like to give them this opportunity
14:43 because this will pass, I know.
14:47 - And currently, over the last couple of years or so,
14:49 it's been a couple of fights, two fights each year.
14:51 Is that the pace that you wanna keep as well
14:54 to make sure that you have the time to recover,
14:55 to get back in there?
14:56 Or are you hoping to maybe step that up
14:58 and maybe get three fights into a year?
14:59 - Yeah, last year I got three fights.
15:01 Last year I got three fights, March, July, and December.
15:07 Was a busy year for me.
15:09 And I would like to fight another time this year.
15:12 But I think if I keep fighting,
15:15 in the most ideal scenario for me,
15:20 it would be three fights a year.
15:22 But two is fine too, you know?
15:24 Like, I wanna fight another time this year.
15:27 - And say if you do get,
15:28 I think you said you had six fights left on the contract?
15:30 - This Saturday and six more.
15:32 - And then six more.
15:33 So roughly that would put you,
15:34 maybe fight a couple of times a year.
15:35 That's like 41 years old.
15:38 Are you hoping to sign for another six after that?
15:41 Or are you just gonna see how the body feels at that point?
15:43 - Let's see how the body feels.
15:45 You know, like I think
15:46 six fights is a lot of fights.
15:52 But we'll see.
15:55 I, you know, I hope, you know, I put on God's hands.
15:59 He's been blessing me, giving me good health,
16:01 strength, and whatever.
16:05 If I feel like sign a couple more fights after I get this,
16:09 but my goal is get this deal done.
16:12 - And last for me, just looking back at Saturday,
16:13 what are your keys to the victory?
16:14 What needs to happen to make sure
16:16 that you get your arm raised on Saturday?
16:18 - I just push myself and be me, be first,
16:21 and do my game, do what I do best, mix it up,
16:25 push the pace.
16:28 And I know I'm capable of,
16:32 and, you know, just be myself.
16:35 You know, use my experience
16:37 and all the hard work that I did on camp put on display.
16:42 - Best of luck on Saturday.
16:43 - Thank you.
16:44 - One question.
16:45 It's obvious that having clarity
16:47 is so very important to you.
16:49 What else would you like to accomplish
16:51 through your passion that you have not yet accomplished?
16:56 - I think I feel in my heart
17:03 that I reached the top on a division, a lightweight,
17:08 and almost won the welterweight title.
17:13 I think that would be amazing
17:16 if I ever, one day, fight for the title win.
17:20 That would be amazing for me.
17:24 I would love to have that opportunity.
17:26 But it's hard, but it's not impossible.
17:30 I know there is a guy upstairs
17:33 that he pointed to and said,
17:34 "Hey, you're gonna make it.
17:35 You're gonna do it.
17:36 You'll do it."
17:38 I'm sure about it.
17:39 I experienced that amazing work before in my life.
17:44 And of course, being a champion again,
17:49 but most of all, it's just like,
17:54 I wanna be remembered on my legacy
17:56 that the guys that always step in the cage to fight
17:59 and put on a great show.
18:02 And once I stop fighting, I wanna pass this through.
18:07 Martial arts has changed my life.
18:10 And I've seen it change many people's life too.
18:13 And I was thinking, maybe when I stop fighting,
18:17 what I'm gonna do?
18:19 Open a business?
18:20 What I'm gonna do?
18:21 So I decided to open a gym.
18:23 I wanna be there, looking people, encouraging people,
18:28 through experience that I had.
18:31 And yeah, that's what I'm gonna do.
18:35 I think fighting life is very short period of your life.
18:39 And after fight, you have so much thing to do still in life.
18:43 - Congratulations on the gym.
18:46 Good luck on Saturday.
18:47 - Thank you.
18:47 Thank you guys.
18:51 [BLANK_AUDIO]