Fan favorite Clay Guida and submission specialist Rafael dos Anjos are in talks to compete in a lightweight bout at UFC 117 on August 7 from the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, according to Tatame.com, who confirms an earlier report by MMA Recap.
"The Carpenter," who has become one of the UFC's more popular fighters because of his relentless attack and never-say-die attitude, was finished via rear naked choke in a dominant performance from perennial lightweight contender Kenny Florian at UFC 107 in December of last year.
He rebounded from that defeat with a second round submission victory over Shannon Gugerty at UFC on Versus 1 in March. Guida will be looking to compile back-to-back wins with a victory over dos Anjos after recently suffering consecutive losses to Diego Sanchez and "KenFlo."
Rafael is coming off a "Submission of the Night" victory against Terry Etim at UFC 110: "Invincible" in Abu Dhabi last month and a unanimous decision win over Kyle Bradley at UFC Fight Night: "Maynard vs. Diaz." He's reeled of three straight wins inside the Octagon.
The Brazilian notched his first win inside the Octagon by outpointing Rob Emerson at UFC 103: "Franklin vs. Belfort" back on Sept. 19, 2009 after coming off the wrong end of Tyson Griffin decision at UFC Fight Night 18 back on April 1 of last year. Despite the loss, he was game the entire bout, earning him and Griffin an extra 30 G's for putting on "Fight of the Night."
Dos Anjos definitely has skills. Aside from winning nine straight prior to UFC 91, where the Fury FC fighter was stifling Jeremy Stephens for most of their bout until a thunderous uppercut nearly air-mailed him back to Rio.
Expect these two to put on yet another crowd-pleasing performance.
Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more UFC 117 fight announcements as they're made available.
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