Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos will make his welterweight debut against Tarec Saffiedine.
Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos will debut at 170 lbs at UFC Singapore. He’ll be up against former Strikeforce welterweight champion Tarec Saffiedineon June 17th, as confirmed by ChannelNewsAsia.com on Monday. This will not serve as the night’s main event.
Dos Anjos (25-9) had a deeply disappointing 2016. A foot injury forced him out of a lucrative pay-per-view main event vs. Conor McGregor, and then he lost his lightweight title to Eddie Alvarez on a UFC Fight Pass card in July. Following the TKO defeat to Alvarez, the Brazilian faced off against Tony Ferguson in The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale main event, losing a back-and-forth unanimous decision to “El Cucuy.” RDA’s last win was a quick TKO finish of Donald Cerrone in December 2015.
Saffiedine (16-6) is also on a two-fight losing streak, having dropped a split decision to Dong Hyun Kim in December, and a unanimous decision to Rick Story in May. The Belgian kickboxer has struggled with injuries throughout his UFC run, which is why he’s fought just five times in four years. He did stay healthy enough to compete three times in 2016, including a decision win over Jake Ellenberger in January.
Also on tap for UFC Singapore are a pair of unbeaten flyweight newcomers, as 20-year-old URCC champion CJ De Tomas (6-0) fights 19-year-old Naoki Inoue (10-0) on the prelims. Naoki is the brother of women’s MMA standout Mizuki Inoue.
The entire UFC Singapore card streams live on UFC Fight Pass.
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