With two title fights topping the Pay-Per-View card, UFC 185 is off to a strong start. Add a fairly solid undercard, and you get an event that might actually be worth the asking price. This is what all PPV cards should look like. Unfortunately, I have very little interest in the women’s strawweight title bout – in fact it may be the least interest I have in a UFC title fight since Andrei Arlovski vs late Justin Eilers back at UFC 53. Nonetheless, this is a very good card, at least on paper.
Main Event: (C) [#1 LW] Anthony Pettis vs [#3 LW] Rafael dos Anjos for the UFC Lightweight Title
Worth: $22.50
Why: After submitting Ben Henderson to win the LW title, Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis suffered an injury and was forced to take a long layoff. Meanwhile, the division came to a rolling boil, with no shortage of contenders lined up for a crack at the champion. Pettis made a triumphant return and defended his title with another submission win against Gilbert Melendez. His next defense should have been against the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov, however Khabib’s own injuries and inactivity allowed a man he defeated – Rafael dos Anjos – to jump in front of the line.
For a guy with 17 fights in UFC, dos Anjos has flew under the radar for a while, stuck in the middle of the pack and losing fights to gatekeepers like Clay Guida and Gleison Tibau. In the past few years, Rafael evolved into an elite fighter. He is 8-1 since 2011, his sole loss a decision to Nurmagomedov. And in his last two fights, dos Anjos has shown just how dangerous he has become, stopping former champ Henderson and brutally dominating Nate Diaz. He is not as flashy as ‘Showtime’, but probably just as well rounded. With two top fighters in their prime, who both have all the tools of MMA in their arsenal, this should be a great fight. It’s not quite a Jon Jones vs Daniel Cormier, long awaited #1 vs #2 type of fight, but this is almost as good as it gets.