No one foresaw his rise to power in the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division.
Rafael dos Anjos transformed himself from borderline-journeyman to pound-for-pound A-lister with a remarkable 11-fight run -- he went 10-1, losing only to Khabib Nurmagomedov -- from May 15, 2012 to Dec. 19, 2015. Honing his skills under Kings MMA mastermind Rafael Cordeiro, he paired a sharpened standup attack with world-class grappling ability and entered his 30s as one of MMA’s premier fighters. Dos Anjos was no stranger to adversity, but he offset disappointing losses to Jeremy Stephens, Tyson Griffin, Clay Guida and Gleison Tibau with high-profile victories over Donald Cerrone (twice), Nate Diaz, Benson Henderson and Anthony Pettis.