Road To UFC Season 2: Rafael Dos Anjos Picks Lightweight Semi-Final Favourites

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Former lightweight Rafael Dos Anjos has picked his favourites for the upcoming lightweight semifinals of the Road To UFC Season 2, which is scheduled to take place in Singapore on August 27.

In just over two weeks, UFC will finally return to Singapore with UFC Singapore 2023: Holloway vs. The Korean Zombie with two of the best featherweights in action as Max Holloway meets Chan Sung Jung in the headliner.

Before that, the promotion will host UFC Fight Night: Luque vs Dos Anjos in Las Vegas, where former lightweight champion Dos Anjos returns to the welterweight division to face No. 10 ranked Vicente Luque.

Dos Anjos began his MMA career as a lightweight, fighting in Brazil and Japan before joining UFC in 2008. In his 15 years as a fighter and a coach, he's watched numerous lightweights ascend in the division, such as Khabib Nurmagomedov, Donald Cerrone, Nate Diaz, and Tony Ferguson.

RTU Season 2 will see four lightweights take one more step towards winning a coveted UFC contract. So, ahead of his own main event fight in Las Vegas on August 12, Dos Anjos shared his thoughts on the RTU 2 semifinalists.

"As the former UFC lightweight champion, I'd like to share my thoughts on the Road to UFC lightweights in the semifinals," Dos Anjos was keen on talking about the semifinalists, starting with the Ronghzu vs Sangwook Kim bout.

"The first is Rongzhu versus Sangwook Kim. I think Rongzhu is an experienced fighter with a lot of finishes. He will start strong, and Sangwook will have to be well-prepared to handle that pressure in order to impose his will."

The former lightweight Dos Anjos also shared his thoughts on the second semifinal featuring Haraguchi vs Batebolati, "Here are my thoughts on Shin Haraguchi and Batebolati's fight.

"Haraguchi's wrestling background can make a huge difference in this fight. He's undefeated and hungry. Batebolati may be able to compensate with his experience and leave with the win if he manages to find his base and not leave the decision to the judges."