Welterweights occupy the penultimate spot on this weekend’s fight card, as well, as Bryan Barberena looks to extend his winning streak to four when he takes on two-division standout Rafael Dos Anjos.
After dropping his first fight following life-saving abdominal surgery in late 2020, “Bam Bam” has collected consecutive victories over Darian Weeks, Matt Brown, and Robbie Lawler to emerge as an intriguing “late bloomer” in the 170-pound weight class. Last time out, the Gym-O representative went toe-to-toe with the former champion Lawler, becoming just the third person to stop him with strikes.
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Dos Anjos has been splitting his time between lightweight and welterweight as of late, including a catchweight battle against Renato Moicano in the middle of the two divisions. The Brazilian veteran is coming off a fifth-round stoppage loss to Rafael Fiziev but remains a tough test for anyone looking to slide past him in the rankings, regardless of whether that’s at ’55 or 170 pounds.
This one is going to answer a number of questions about each man. A win over Dos Anjos still carries weight and could propel Barberena into the rankings at welterweight, while the former lightweight champ from Brazil can show, like Thompson in the main event, that he’s still got plenty of offer and remains in the Top 15 mix no matter where he competes.