Rafael dos Anjos is moving back up to welterweight for his next fight against Bryan Barberena at UFC Fight Night 216 in Florida on December 3rd.
RDA has had a previous three year stint at 170lbs, during which he did fight for the interim title after a solid start to his time there, but struggled after that and overall delivered only a 4-4 record.
The former lightweight champion then dropped back to 155lbs, where he initially picked up back-to-back wins, before suffering a KO loss to Rafael Fiziev in his latest fight in July.
After that the 37-year-old RDA acknowledged that his title ambitions were no likely at an end, but that he didn’t want to hang up his gloves and instead indicated his desire to fight with other high-profile veterans of the sport, either at lightweight or welterweight.
The 33-year-old Barberena wasn’t one of the names on his list of potential opponents, but ‘Bam Bam’ has been making a name for himself in recent times as a veteran-killer, having beaten Matt Brown and Robbie Lawler in his last two fights.
In total Barberena has won his last three fights and holds an overall 9-6 record in the UFC.
RDA vs. Barberena joins a UFC Fight Night 216 card that doesn’t yet have a confirmed headliner, but will also feature Derek Brunson vs. Jack Hermansson, Michael Johnson vs. Marc Diakese and Clay Guida vs. Scott Holtzman.
