Anjos vs Barberena

Who won Anjos vs Barberena?

Rafael dos Anjos beat Bryan Barberena by submission in the 2nd round during the co-main event of UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Holland, on Saturday 3rd December 2022 at Amway Center in Orlando.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Welterweight division, which meant the weight limit was 170 pounds (12.1 stone or 77.1 KG).

Anjos vs Barberena stats

Rafael dos Anjos stepped into the octagon with a record of 31 wins, 14 loses and 0 draws, 5 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 10 by submission.

Bryan Barberena made his way to the cage with a record of 18 wins, 8 loses and 0 draws, with 11 of those wins by knock out and 2 by submission.

The stats suggested Barberena had a massive power advantage over Anjos, boosting at 61% knock out percentage over Anjos' 16%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Anjos had a large advantage over Barberena, boasting at 32% submission rate over Barberena's 11%.

Rafael dos Anjos was the older man by 4 years, at 38 years old.

Barberena had a height advantage of 4 inches over Anjos. That also extended to a 2-inch reach advantage.

Anjos was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 19 more fights, and made his debut in 2004, 5 years earlier than Barberena, whose first professional fight was in 2009. He had fought 65 more professional rounds, 136 to Barberena's 71.

Anjos vs Barberena form

Rafael dos Anjos had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to Rafael Fiziev at UFC Fight Night: Dos Anjos vs. Fiziev on 9th July 2022 by knockout in the 5th round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had won against Renato Moicano at UFC 272 on 5th March 2022 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had beat Paul Felder at UFC Vegas 14 on 14th November 2020 by split decision in their 5 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had been beaten by Michael Chiesa at UFC on ESPN+ 24 on 25th January 2020 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at PNC Arena, Raleigh.

He had lost to Leon Edwards at UFC on ESPN 4 on 20th July 2019 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at AT&T Center, San Antonio.

Barberena had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had defeated Robbie Lawler at UFC 276 on 2nd July 2022 by knockout in the 2nd round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had defeated Matt Brown at UFC Fight Night Columbus on 26th March 2022 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Nationwide Arena, Columbus.

Going into that contest, he had won against Darian Weeks at UFC Fight Night on 4th December 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had been beaten by Jason Witt at UFC Vegas 33 on 31st July 2021 by majority decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

He had lost to Randy Brown at UFC on ESPN+ 12 on 22nd June 2019 by knockout in the 3rd round at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Rafael dos Anjos had been fighting more than Bryan Barberena.

Going to this contest, Rafael dos Anjos had last fought 1 year, 2 months and 12 days ago, while Bryan Barberena's last outing had been 1 year, 2 months and 19 days ago.

Anjos' last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 2 months and 1 day, meaning he had been fighting on average every 10 months. In those fights, he fought a total of 23 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 4.6 rounds on average.

Barberena's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 2 months and 30 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 10 months and 6 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 14 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.8 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Anjos vs Barberena?

Rafael dos Anjos was a 1/5 (-500) favourite going into the contest, while Bryan Barberena made his way into the ring at 15/4 (+380) with oddsmakers.