Rafael dos Anjos will defend his lightweight title against Eddie Alvarez at UFC Fight Night 90 on Thursday, July 7th in Las Vegas.
Dos Anjos had been hoping to fight at UFC 200, but instead he’ll be competing just two days earlier, and he’ll also have the somewhat dubious distinction of being the first champion to defend their title exclusively on the UFC’s Fight Pass subscription service.
The 31 year-old has been leaving a trail of destruction in his path over the past couple of years at 155lbs, with a five fight winning streak that’s seem him take out some of the biggest names in the divison with surprising ease.
For instance, he KO’d former champ Ben Henderson in the first round, earned dominant decision wins over Nate Diaz and Anthony Pettis (who he defeated to win the belt), and most recently successfully defended his title for the first time by 66 second TKO against Donald Cerrone.
That’s an impressive run of form by anybody’s standards, but former Bellator lightweight champion Alvarez will be looking to break that streak.
The 32 year-old lost his UFC debut against Donald Cerrone, but has since taken out two high profile opponents in Gilbert Melendez and Anthony Pettis to establish himself as the No.1 contender in the weight class.
UFC Fight Night 90: Dos Anjos vs Alvarez marks the start of three events in three days for the promotion during International Fight Week in las Vegas, with the TUF 23 Finale the following night being headlined by a woman’s strawweight title encounter between season coaches Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha, and then UFC 200 on Saturday night which will be fronted by Conor McGregor Vs Nate Diaz II.
