While still in the stands of the gymnasium, in Virginia, USA, Rafael dos Anjos spoke with GRACIEMAG.com about his win over Kyle Bradley at UFC Fight Night 20, this Monday. The triumph marks his second win in a row in the octagon, and came by way of unanimous decision.

Rafael was overjoyed. After two unfavorable results in the organization, he managed to get back on track, breaking even in his record for the organization at 2 to 2.

“I’m really happy about taking command of the three rounds. I fought well standing and I think I was just missing a little bit of adjustment on the finishes. The guy was prepared to defend, but it went just right, the way we wanted it to go. What’s important is that I didn’t get hurt and I won the fight,” he celebrated, now only thinking of further victories down the road.

To make it to his second UFC win, beyond well polished muay thai, Rafa used his main weapon: Jiu-Jitsu.

“I landed a kimura lock twice. I also tried going for the arm, but landed on bottom and the fight went back to the feet. I fought well standing and got the takedown. I also mounted and, if I had a few more seconds, I think I would have finished with the armbar,” he says.

UFC Fight Night 20 took place Monday evening in Virginia, USA. Featured among the fighters were some in the lightweight category who use Jiu-Jitsu as their mainstay in the ring.

In one of these fights, the main event, Cesar Gracie black belt Nate Diaz found luck was not in his favor in his rendezvous with Gray Maynard. After getting the better of the standup exchange in the first round, when he opened a cut on his opponent’s face, Diaz came up short in the rounds that followed and lost the split decision.

Speaking of the gentle art, also in the lightweight category, Evan Dunham showed his ground game was up to par by catching Efrain Escudero with a sightly armbar, after attempting a triangle. Also on the main card, but displaying slick standup, Amir Sadollah led the action against Brad Blackburn.

In the non-broadcast card, black belt Rafael dos Anjos notched his second win for the organization by overcoming Kyle Bradley in the unanimous judges’ decision, also in the lightweight division. In the same category, Thiago Tavares drew with Nik Lentz. In another much-anticipated match, Chris Leben took the decision over Jay Silva.

Check out the complete results:

UFN 20
Virginia, United States
January 11, 2010

Gray Maynard defeated Nate Diaz via split decision
Evan Dunham submitted Efrain Escudero via armbar at 1:59 min of R3
Aaron Simpson defeated Tom Lawlor via split decision
Amir Sadollah defeated Brad Blackburn via unanimous decision

Preliminary matches
Chris Leben defeated Jay Silva via unanimous decision
Rick Story defeated Jesse Lennox via unanimous decision
Thiago Tavares and Nik Lentz fought to a draw
Rory MacDonald submitted Michael Guymon via armbar at 4:27 min of R1
Rafael dos Anjos defeated Kyle Bradley via unanimous decision
Gerald Harris defeated John Salter via technical knockout at 3:24 min of R3
Nick Catone defeated Jesse Forbes via split decision

O UFC Fight Night 20 promete boas lutas aos telespectadores do canal especializado em lutas do sistema pay-per-view da Globosat. Na principal, Gray Maynard enfrenta Nate Diaz (foto) e o assinante Combate confere também Efrains Escudero x Evan Dunham, Tom Lawlor x Aaron Simpson e Amir Sadollah x Brad Blackburn.

Maynard manteve sua invencibilidade de oito lutas profissionais com a vitória sobre Roger Huerta em setembro de 2009, no UFC Fight Night 19. Dessa vez ele desafia Nate Diaz, que também venceu sua luta no último UFC Fight Night, totalizando onze vitórias e quatro derrotas. Os dois chegaram a lutar na quinta temporada do reality-show The Ultimate Fighter, quando Maynard perdeu.

“É uma boa oportunidade para uma revanche pela derrota que sofri no programa. Nate é um adversário difícil e está muito bem nos últimos anos”, afirmou Maynard. Nate Diaz concorda com seu adversário. “Nós dois melhoramos muito desde a nossa primeira luta. Irei dar tudo o que tenho para ser o lutador mais inteligente e derrotá-lo”, disse.

Completam o card Efrain Escudero (13v, 0d) x Evan Dunham (9v, 0d), Tom Lawlor (6v, 1d) x Aaron Simpson (6v, 0d) e Amir Sadollah (3v, 1d) x Brad Blackburn (15v, 9d).

Já no dia 10 para 11, o Combate e o Combate HD transmitem ao vivo o World Extreme Cagefigthing (WEC), com o retorno do ex-campeão dos pesos pena (até 66kg) Urijah Faber contra o brasileiro Raphael Assunção, de Recife.

Os americanos Jamie Varner e Ben Henderson se encontram para definir quem será consagrado o campeão absoluto da categoria leve no WEC. O atual campeão é Varner, com 16 vitórias, duas derrotas e dois empates na carreira. O interino é Henderson, com dez vitórias e uma derrota. Varner retorna ao octógono após um ano, quando derrotou Donald Cerrone em janeiro.

“Ben é um cara duro, mas eu sou campeão por uma razão. Estou confiante para esta luta e não acho que ele apresentará nenhuma ameaça ou desafio que eu não conheça. Estou pronto para mostrar ao mundo que sou o verdadeiro campeão dessa categoria”, afirmou Varner.

Ben Henderson ganhou o título de campeão interino ao derrotar o mesmo Donald Cerrone em uma luta brutal em outubro do ano passado. Para ele o reinado de Varner na categoria acaba neste domingo. “Varner é um bom boxeador e um lutador forte, então estou pronto para ir à guerra com ele. Vou deixar tudo o que sei no octógono e vencer essa disputa”, acredita Henderson.