UFC Raleigh continues to take shape, gets Dos Anjos vs. Chiesa

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UFC Raleigh is really starting to look like a great fight night to kick-off 2020. And it continues to get some great additions.

On January 25, 2020, the UFC goes head to head with Bellator as they’ll be in Raleigh, North Carolina while their competitor hosts a title fight live from the LA Forum. To combat the evening, the deck is being stacked for UFC Raleigh.

With already several great fights announced, another is being added and going down in the 170-pound division. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto confirmed on Thursday that former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos (29-12) will square off with The Ultimate Fighter season 15 winner Michael Chiesa (16-4).

Breaking: Rafael dos Anjos vs. Michael Chiesa agreed to for UFC Fight Night on Jan. 25 in Raleigh, North Carolina, per sources.

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) November 21, 2019

Since making his welterweight debut at UFC 232 in December 2018, Chiesa has gone 2-0 by earning impressively dominant victories over the likes Carlos Condit and Diego Sanchez. The former coming by way of a submission of the year candidate as he finished the fight via one-armed kimura in the opening round.

For the former champion in Dos Anjos, he’s 4-3 since making his move up in weight. Unfortunately for the Brazilian, he’s 1-3 in his last four fights with his most recent loss coming to Leon Edwards in July. Directly prior to that, he scored a solid third-round arm-triangle victory over Kevin Lee. Thus snapping his two-fight losing streak to the now champion Kamaru Usman, and the former interim champion Colby Covington.

With two great bouts already placed at the event’s peak, it’s kind of crazy that this fight won’t be the main or co-main event. It just goes to show how good of a card we’re getting to kick off the new year. And that’s without mentioning the Bellator event that will take place on the opposite side of the country.

The card’s full line-up as of right now can be seen below.

Heavyweight – 207-265lbs: Curtis Blaydes vs. Junior dos Santos
Bantamweight – 135lbs: Cory Sandhagen vs. Frankie Edgar
Welterweight – 170lbs: Rafael dos Anjos vs. Michael Chiesa
Flyweight – 125lbs: Justine Kish vs. Lucie Pudilová
Middleweight – 185lbs: Bevon Lewis vs. Alen Amedovski
Light Heavyweight – 205lbs: Jamahal Hill vs. Darko Stošić
Bantamweight: Montel Jackson vs. Felipe Colares
Featherweight – 145lbs: Herbert Burns vs. Nate Landwehr
Bantamweight: Brett Johns vs. Tony Gravely
Bantamweight: Sara McMann vs. Lina Länsberg
Strawweight – 115lbs: Brianna Van Buren vs. Hannah Cifers
Flyweight: Jordan Espinosa vs. Alex Perez

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The Scrap’s Drake Riggs is an MMA writer and YouTuber based out of Brush Prairie, Washington who specializes in feature pieces, the women’s fight scene, lists, news coverage, and rankings. Riggs has been a passionate MMA fan since 2009 and has written for various news sources. You can follow him on Twitter (@Dre_Kriggs).

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