“RDA still got it” – MMA pros react to brutal Rafael dos Anjos vs. Renato Moicano war at UFC 272

Rafael dos Anjos has proven that he still has a lot left in the tank by dominating Renato Moicano in the co-main event of UFC 272 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Dos Anjos triumphantly returned in his first fight since November 2020 and secured a unanimous decision victory over Moicano, who stepped in on short notice for Rafael Fiziev. Due to the circumstances, the bout was booked as a 160-pound catchweight bout.

After five rounds, the official scorecards read 49-45, 49-44 and 50-44 as the future UFC Hall-of-Famer secured a second win in a row.

Dos Anjos methodically picked Moicano apart by taking him down and inflicting damage with ground strikes. The up-and-comer tried to mount rallies, but dos Anjos continued to drag him to the ground, where he would unload a beating.

Moicano turned in an admirable effort, but dos Anjos simply proved to be the better fighter. Check out how the pros reacted to the show-stealing UFC 272 co-featured matchup.

UFC Fighters react to Rafael dos Anjos vs. Renato Moicano

UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira is clearly proud of his fellow Brazilians. ‘Do Bronx’ took to Twitter to cheer on his compatriots after a grueling five-round war.

Meanwhile, former light heavyweight titleholder Tito Ortiz has procalimed Rafael dos Anjos vs. Renato Moicano as the ‘Fight of the Night’ as soon as the final horn went off. ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ tweeted:

Meanwhile, Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, Billy Quarantillo and Ramiz Brahimaj agreed that RDA showed no sign of ring rust. Thompson even went as far as saying the time off appeared to have reinvigorated former champion.

By the end of the fourth round, Moicano was bloodied and battered. It appeared that the fight could be stopped at any moment, but he still came out firing as he attempted to score a huge comeback.

The decision to let Moicano continue was met with varying opinions. Some praised Moicano’s will to continue, while others believed his coaches and the cage-side doctor did him a massive disservice by allowing him to take more damage.

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