MMA Preview – Rafael dos Anjos vs Renato Moicano at UFC 272
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RAFAEL DOS ANJOS VS RENATO MOICANO FACTS
When is UFC 272? Sunday 6th March, 2022 - 01:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC 272? T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC 272? Click here to buy tickets for UFC 272
What channel is UFC 272 on? BT Sport 1
Where can I stream UFC 272? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website
For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live on ESPN+ and you can sign up for access as part of a Disney Bundle here!
RAFAEL DOS ANJOS VS RENATO MOICANO LOWDOWN
Rafael dos Anjos (30-13) misses out on the opportunity to fight Rafael Fiziev again as the Kyrgyzstani recovers from COVID-19. It is gutting for everyone, but thankfully the former lightweight champion is still on the card. He starts his second quest at 155 lbs after losing four of his last five fights up at 170 lbs. He is a ‘tweener’ who struggles to make lightweight but is just too small up at welterweight which was evident in his losses to top grapplers Colby Covington (2018), Kamaru Usman (2018), Leon Edwards (2019) and Michael Chiesa (2020) who all grinded out unanimous decisions. He dropped back down to lightweight in his last fight back in November 2020 but has another last-minute drop-out with Islam Makhachev biting the dust that time. Fortunately, Paul Felder filled in a like a savage but the Brazilian won the split decision.
Renato Moicano (16-4) is the man stepping up on short notice. He has also changed weight classes recently, but he is a former featherweight who has moved up. He got knocked out by Jose Aldo (2019) and Chan Sung Jung (2019) which happens to most featherweights, but that forced him up where he was welcomed to the division by Damir Hadzovic. It could not have gone better submitting him in the first round, but he then ran into Fiziev (2020) who had too much power and class on the feet knocking him out in the first round. However, he has regained momentum by submitting Jai Herbert (2021) and Alexander Hernandez which was less than a month ago.
RAFAEL DOS ANJOS VS RENATO MOICANO PREDICTION
Hats off to Moicano for taking this fight, but this is an awful match-up for him. Dos Anjos has not fought in a minute, but he has already had a full training camp and will have an answer for everything Moicano has to offer.
Weight will be a key factor. This is a catchweight bout at 160 lbs which is probably the perfect weight for dos Anjos. Moicano is the longer fighter with a two-inch height and reach advantage and will look bigger, but he will still be giving up a lot of power.
He will still have to cut weight this week and his cardio will be compromised. It is hard to see how he wins this, and he will have to be aggressive. His clear strength is his jiu-jitsu however, dos Anjos has one of the most underrated ground games in the UFC as a high-level black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
He has the wrestling and power to neutralize Moicano’s grappling, and we do not see him having much luck on the feet wither. Dos Anjos is a much better striker who will negate the reach with his technique targeting the legs and body with thunderous kicks from his southpaw stance.
This is dos Anjos’ to lose who should be better wherever the fight goes and if it goes into the third round, dos Anjos will capitalize on a fatigued Moicano.
Prediction: Dos Anjos via KO/TKO - CLICK HERE FOR PARIMATCH'S WELCOME OFFER (BET £5, GET £30 IN BONUSES!)
