Rafael dos Anjos on Tarec Saffiedine Bout: ‘It’s The Fight I Needed’

Rafael dos Anjos believes fighting Tarec Saffiedine in his welterweight debut is the perfect scenario.

The former UFC lightweight title holder decided to move up in weight after losing his title to Eddie Alvarez and then falling short against Tony Ferguson. The former champion said the sacrifices he had to make during weight cuts were too great to stay at 155 pounds.

On June 17, dos Anjos will meet Saffiedine inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore for UFC Fight Night 111. The “Sponge” sits at the 10th position on the official UFC welterweight rankings. A victory for dos Anjos would see him earn a spot on the 170-pound rankings.

“RDA” spoke with Combate and expressed his excitement in fighting Saffiedine:

“I think Tarec is a tough guy, former Strikeforce champion, is in the top 10 of the (rankings). It’s the fight I needed. Saffiedine has already won (against) big names, it will be good for me to get a win over a top 10 guy. I’ll have to start all over again, I have it clear in my head that I will have to rebuild everything I did in lightweight. And nothing beats the initial fight against a former Strikeforce champion to show everyone that I’ve come to stay at that weight.”