Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts Rafael dos Anjos and Gleison Tibau will face off in a battle of lightweight contenders at UFC 139 on November 19th in San Jose, California. Both fighters have verbally agreed to the all-Brazilian matchup, which was officially announced by the promotion earlier today.
Dos Anjos is coming off of his biggest Octagon victory to date, a 59-second knockout of former top contender George Sotiropoulos at UFC 132, and has won four of his last five fights. Tibau has also won four of five and submitted Rafaello “Tractor” Oliveira in an impressive performance at UFC 130 in May.
Dos Anjos (15-5-0) appeared to be well on his way to a one-sided decision win in his UFC debut against Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens in 2008 before a wild right hook left dos Anjos unconscious on the mat early in the final round. He dropped a second fight to Tyson Griffin, but was once again competitive and went on to win three times in the Octagon before suffering a jaw injury in round three against Clay “The Carpenter” Guida. Having now demonstrated one-punch knockout power in his most recent bout, the talented dos Anjos will look to continue to move up the lightweight ranks at Tibau’s expense.
Tibau (23-7-0) has also experienced mixed success inside the UFC, but is currently enjoying the most successful period of his career. Having tasted defeat just twice in his last eight fights, and with big wins over a number of veteran opponents during that time, Tibau is finally on the cusp of title contention. The powerful lightweight defeated Kurt “Batman” Pellegrino in a competitive March bout, then dispatched of Oliveira in emphatic fashion in his most recent outing. With ever-improving striking and takedowns, the submission specialist would make a big statement if he is able to get past dos Anjos in November.
UFC 139 takes place on November 19th at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. Cain Velasquez will defend the UFC Heavyweight Championship against Junior “Cigano” dos Santos in the main event.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)