Rafael Souza dos Anjos (Brazilian Portuguese: [ʁafaˈɛw duz ˈɐ̃ʒus]; born 26 October 1984), also known by his initials RDA, is a Brazilian and American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight and Lightweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2004, he is a former UFC Lightweight Champion.
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Early life
In a 2014 interview, dos Anjos stated that he was a troubled child, getting into fights in his hometown Niterói, Rio de Janeiro. He originally started training Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Daniel Matheus at the age of nine. According to dos Anjos, he stopped fighting on the streets when he began training jiu jitsu.
Mixed martial arts career
The majority of dos Anjos' early career took place in his native country of Brazil. He started off his career with a record of 2–2, with both losses coming by way of split decision. dos Anjos then racked up 9 straight victories, which included 6 submissions. His 11–2 record in regional circuits was enough to get him a call from the UFC.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
dos Anjos made his UFC debut at UFC 91, losing to Jeremy Stephens. The fight was stopped in the third round after an uppercut knocked out dos Anjos.
For his second UFC fight, dos Anjos faced Tyson Griffin at UFC Fight Night 18. dos Anjos lost the back-and-forth battle via unanimous decision. The bout was awarded Fight of the Night honors.
dos Anjos was scheduled to fight Matt Wiman on 19 September 2009, at UFC 103, but due to a knee injury suffered by Wiman, he instead faced Rob Emerson. dos Anjos got a much-needed win by unanimous decision.
dos Anjos then defeated Kyle Bradley via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 20.
At UFC 112, dos Anjos defeated Terry Etim via second round armbar submission, earning him Submission of the Night honors.
dos Anjos faced Clay Guida on 7 August 2010, at UFC 117. Guida appeared to injure the jaw of dos Anjos in the first round with a hook and would go on to defeat dos Anjos by submission (jaw injury) after dos Anjos tapped from the pressure being applied to his jaw while Guida had arm-and-head control.
dos Anjos next faced George Sotiropoulos on 2 July 2011 at UFC 132 after replacing an injured Evan Dunham. Dos Anjos showcased his vastly improved striking skills, knocking out Sotiropoulos cold in the first round with a right hand.
dos Anjos faced Gleison Tibau on 19 November 2011 at UFC 139. He lost the fight via split decision.
dos Anjos faced Kamal Shalorus on 15 May 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV 3. After dropping Shalorus with a head kick, dos Anjos submitted him via rear-naked choke in the first round.
After taking virtually no damage in the fight against Shalorus, dos Anjos quickly returned to face Anthony Njokuani on 11 July 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV 4, replacing an injured Paul Taylor. He won the fight via unanimous decision, dominating Njokuani both in striking and grappling.
Fighting style
Dos Anjos is known for his aggressive, high-volume striking, physical strength, and strong takedown capabilities. A southpaw, he will often come out aggressively in a Muay Thai stance, then use feints and kicks to back his opponent against the cage while swarming them with flurries of punches as well as takedowns. He is particularly noted for his left kick to the body and right hook to the head; he uses these strikes to limit his opponent's lateral movement as they attempt to get their backs away from the fence. Under trainer Jason Parillo, dos Anjos developed a refined boxing game in 2017. On the ground, he is noted for his powerful ground-and-pound, which includes punches and sharp elbow strikes. In addition to his striking, dos Anjos is a high-level black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Dos Anjos trains out of Evolve MMA in Singapore and at Team RDA in California; he formerly trained at Kings MMA but left after losing to Eddie Alvarez. He is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Aldo "Caveirinha" Januário.
Personal life
After receiving a broken jaw in the Guida fight, dos Anjos now has a titanium fused jaw that he claims has broken some hands of later opponents. Dr. Johnny Benjamin has disagreed with dos Anjos, pointing out that the titanium plate in his jaw is measured in millimeters.
Dos Anjos is a Christian. Dos Anjos has three children with his wife, Cris. On 20 December 2019, dos Anjos revealed on social media that he and his family are now naturalized U.S. citizens.
Championships and accomplishments
Ultimate Fighting Championship
UFC Lightweight Championship (One time)
One successful title defense
Fight of the Night (Three times) vs. Tyson Griffin, Tony Ferguson, and Paul Felder
Submission of the Night (One time) vs. Terry Etim
Performance of the Night (Four times) vs. Donald Cerrone, Anthony Pettis, Benson Henderson, and Neil Magny
Second total fight time in UFC history (8:43:19) (behind Max Holloway)
First fighter to reach 8 hours of fight time in UFC history
Tied (Jon Jones) for ninth most wins in UFC history (21)
Tied (Jeremy Stephens) for seventh most bouts in UFC history (36)
Tied (Belal Muhammad, Brad Tavares & Kamaru Usman) for second most unanimous decision wins in UFC history (11)
Tied (Georges St-Pierre, Diego Sanchez, Andrei Arlovski & Belal Muhammad) for third most wins by decision in UFC history (12)
Tied (Francisco Trinaldo) for most unanimous decision wins in UFC Lightweight history (7)
Second most decision bouts in UFC history (22) (behind Angela Hill)
Sixth most significant strikes landed in UFC history (1822)
Submission grappling
Brazilian jiu-jitsu
World Jiu-Jitsu Championship
2003 Purple Belt Peso Leve: 1st Place
Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship
2004 Brown Belt Peso Leve: 3rd Place
2005 Brown Belt Peso Leve: 3rd place
European Championship
2006 Black Belt Peso Leve: 3rd place