The MMA Daily

The co-main event of the evening comes at a Catchweight of 160 pounds, as the former Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos takes on Renato Moicano. Originally, dos Anjos was set to take on Rafael Fiziev. Unfortunately Fiziev got COVID and was forced out of the bout. Scrambling for a last second opponent, Moicano stepped up on four days notice. A winner of two straight, both of which came via submission, Moicano is coming into this opportunity with excellent momentum. Meanwhile, dos Anjos will return to the octagon for the first time since November of 2020. Plagued by injuries and cancellations, dos Anjos has failed to build off his victory over Paul Felder. However, with Moicano stepping up, dos Anjos will finally get to shake off that rust.

As for a prediction, I have RDA winning. While I commend Moicano for stepping up, this just feels like a tough task to overcome. Not knowing what his conditioning or how much weight he needed to cut to get to the 160 mark, it’s hard to lean on his side in what should be a grueling fight. One in which RDA excels in. A well rounded talent, RDA brings a blend of striking and grappling to go along with an endless gas tank. Known to push a hard pace and bring forth pressure, RDA has a tendency of breaking opponents. Something will happen in this fight, unless Moicano can get into an advantageous position to set up a submission. Given RDA has been submitted once in forty-three professional fights, I find that unlikely. So with that said, I predict that RDA will win via TKO.