Bell MTS Place
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Not-America
Robbie Lawler last fought Donald Cerrone in a great fight that he won after punching Cowboy a lot. Rafael dos Anjos last fought Neil Magny in a quick fight that he won after tapping out Mr. Potato Head. Now they’ll fight one another, as announced by the UFC.
The announcement was made via a press release, which I’ve included below so that you can read it. That’s what they’re for – that’s a lie. They’re really for journalists to cut up and pretend like they’re doing original reporting when they’re really just parroting The Man.
We here at HG don’t parrot the man, we photocopy him, so take that, The Man.
Kinda weird, like, two years ago this would’ve been a super-fight and now it headlines in wherever the fuck Winnipeg is in Canada (somewhere cold).
dos Anjos had the following to say, via his Instagram (do you care where it came from?):
Two former Champions ranked # 1 and # 5 fighting while the current Champ needs months to recover from an injury … if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it MUST be a duck !!! This is an Interim Title Fight no matter what the headlines say !!! Let’s do this@ruthless_
Matt and I will talk more about this on next week’s MMA & STUFF, that podcast we do that is very good and which you should listen to.
Winnipeg, Canada – A pair of former UFC® world champions will throw down in a welterweight thriller at Bell MTS Centre on December 16. UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: LAWLER vs. DOS ANJOS will see former welterweight champion and No.1-ranked contender Robbie Lawler (28-11 1NC, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Florida, USA) look to take another step back towards a title shot when he meets one-time lightweight titleholder and No. 5 ranked welterweight Rafael dos Anjos (27-9, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).
A dangerous knockout artist, Lawler has engaged in some of the most memorable bouts in UFC history. During his 170-pound title reign, he earned legendary wins over Rory MacDonald and Carlos Condit. Following a loss to current champ Tyron Woodley, he rebounded with a sensational victory over Donald Cerrone in July. Undefeated since moving up to 170 pounds earlier this year, dos Anjos immediately cemented his contender status with an impressive victory over Tarec Saffiedine. He then followed up his welterweight debut with a dominant submission win against Neil Magny.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: LAWLER vs. DOS ANJOS will also feature a battle of light heavyweight contenders, as No.3 ranked Glover Teixeira (26-6, fighting out of Danbury, Connecticut, USA by way of Sobralia, Minas Gerais, Brazil) faces No.8 Misha Cirkunov (13-3, fighting out of Toronto, Canada by way of Riga, Latvia).
A one-time title challenger, Teixeira has fought the who’s who of the light heavyweight division. He holds victories over Rashad Evans, Ovince Saint Preux, Ryan Bader and Quinton Jackson. In his last outing, he came up short in a Fight of the Night effort against Alexander Gustafsson. Cirkunov burst into the UFC’s 205-pound scene with four consecutive stoppage wins against Nikita Krylov, Ion Cuțelaba, Alex Nicholson and Daniel Jolly. The Latvian-born fighter aims to use Teixeira as a stepping stone into title contention.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: LAWLER vs. DOS ANJOS will also boast the following fights:
– No.11-ranked light heavyweight Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (22-7, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) squares off with No.15 Jared Cannonier (10-2, fighting out of Anchorage, Alaska, USA)
– In a clash of dynamic flyweights, No.11-ranked Tim Elliott (15-8-1, fighting out of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, USA) takes on Justin Scoggins (11-4, fighting out of Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA)
– The Ultimate Fighter Nations® winner Chad Laprise (13-2, fighting out of Chatham, Ontario, Canada) looks to continue his momentum at welterweight against dynamic striker Galore Bofando (5-2, fighting out of London, England by way of Democratic Republic Congo)
– Talented kickboxer John Makdessi (14-6, fighting out of Montreal, Canada) locks horns with heavy-hitting Abel Trujillo (15-6 1NC, fighting out of Boca, Raton, Florida, USA)
– Tristar Gym’s Nordine Taleb (13-4, fighting out of Montreal, Canada by way of St. Tropez, France) meets Sambo specialist Sultan Aliev (14-2, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Florida, USA by way of Dagestan, Russia)
– Italian prospect Alessio Di Chirico (10-2, fighting out of Rome, Italy) faces dangerous striker Oluwale Bamgbose (6-3, fighting out of New York City, USA) in a middleweight bout
– In a battle of knockout artists, Vitor Miranda (13-6, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) welcomes Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series standout Julian Marquez (6-1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nevada, USA)
UFC Winnipeg Card
- Welterweight Robbie Lawler vs. Rafael dos Anjos
- Light Heavyweight Antônio Rogério Nogueira vs. Jared Cannonier
- Middleweight Alessio Di Chirico vs. Oluwale Bamgbose
- Middleweight Vitor Miranda vs. Julian Marquez
- Flyweight Tim Elliott vs. Justin Scoggins
- Light Heavyweight Glover Teixeira vs. Misha Cirkunov
