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UFC Fight Night Winnipeg Results: Rafael Dos Anjos Defeats Robbie Lawler, Is UFC Title Shot Next?

By Matt Couden
Published on: 12:45 PST, Dec 17, 2017

On Saturday night, the UFC Fight Night Winnipeg results featured a main event with Rafael dos Anjos vs. Robbie Lawler. The bout lasted five rounds with dos Anjos able to capture a victory by decision. That has plenty of mixed martial arts fans wondering what’s next for these two fighters. It appears it could very well be a UFC Welterweight Championship match versus champion Tyron Woodley on the horizon for Rafael dos Anjos. However, one has to wonder if it will also mean Lawler is moving closer to leaving his days in the Octagon behind.

As UFC.com’s Thomas Gerbasi reported, a title shot was on the line in this one and dos Anjos picked up his third win since moving to the 170-pound weight class. During the fight, Lawler sustained quite a bit of damage especially to his leg after multiple kicks were landed by his Brazilian opponent. After outlasting opponent Robbie Lawler in five rounds, the match ended up as a unanimous decision in favor of Dos Anjos with scores of 50-45 across the board. In just the first round, Lawler tried to really go at dos Anjos who was able to survive the attacks. The Brazilian MMA star responded with a counterattack several minutes into the round as he struck Lawler’s head and body. Still, both fighters lasted the opening round.

The second round is when the eventual winner started to find his rhythm in picking apart Lawler. He would end up with a flurry of strikes that Lawler blocked. In the third and fourth rounds, Rafael dos Anjos worked on Lawler’s leg quite a bit to wear him down. In the fourth round, dos Anjos also ended the round with a flying knee and then an elbow to Lawler’s head.

By the final round, Lawler was stumbling due to all of the damage he’d taken to his leg, but kept at it. There was a takedown at one point, but the clock eventually ended allowing the judges to score the match in favor of dos Anjos.

After his big victory in Winnipeg, Dos Anjos spoke about getting a title shot next.

“In my opinion, I just beat the toughest guy in the division, and I think I deserve it (a title shot) because of my history and doing what I did in the division. I’ve been 10 years in the UFC already and I think I did enough tonight to deserve that title shot and I’m sure I’ll get that belt.”

The big event took place at the Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Rafael dos Anjos moved to 28-9 on his fighting record with the victory, while Lawler fell to 28-12 with one no-contest. Dos Anjos was ranked No. 4 prior to the fight and Lawler at No. 2 overall.

Rafael dos Anjos has now picked up three-straight wins with a submission over Neil Magny at UFC 215 and another unanimous decision win over Tarec Saffiedine at UFC Fight Night back in June. With Tyron Woodley currently injured, it has fans wondering when there might be a title match coming up. That remains to be seen and heard from UFC boss Dana White, but some fans are already questioning if it’s time for the former UFC Welterweight champ Lawler to end his career. Most likely, Lawler will be back in the Octagon again, but at 35-years-old his time for retirement is certainly getting closer.

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