Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rafael Fiziev Headlines Feb. 19 UFC Fight Night Card

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The battle for the best Rafael in the Ultimate Fighting Championship is on the books for a five-rounder in February.

Twitter user Full Violence posted about Rafael dos Anjos (30-13) vs. Rafael Fiziev (11-1) coming together on Thursday night. The UFC’s broadcast partner of ESPN subsequently confirmed on Friday that this 155-pound encounter would headline the UFC Fight Night event on Feb. 19. The two top-ranked lightweights that had been chirping at one another on social media will come to blows at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Dos Anjos came back to the lightweight division in 2020 after eight bouts at 170 pounds including an interim title fight. His return to the division in which he was champ saw him defeat Paul Felder by a head-scratching split decision in which he likely won all five rounds in the eyes of most observers. The Brazilian had been planning to fight Islam Makhachev for a significant portion of 2020 and 2021, only for both men to suffer injuries and dos Anjos to contract COVID-19.

Facing dos Anjos will be Fiziev, who is coming off the biggest win of his career in a “Knockout of the Year” contender against Brad Riddell in December. At UFC on ESPN 31, Fiziev nailed Riddell with a spinning wheel kick to score the knockout, and in the process, earned his fourth post-fight bonus in four appearances. Since his unsuccessful UFC debut in 2019 – an 86-second knockout to Magomed Mustafaev – Fiziev has rattled off five straight victories.

Dos Anjos and Fiziev will name the final unnamed UFC card in February, although its designation has not yet been made official whether it will be coined a UFC Fight Night or ESPN offering. The lightweights will square off at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas over five rounds on Feb. 19 to cap off the fight card. Other noteworthy bouts previously booked for the card include a light heavyweight battle between Johnny Walker and Jamahal Hill, as well as a middleweight clash placing Julian Marquez against Kyle Daukaus.