UFC on FOX 13 results recap: Rafael dos Anjos vs Nate Diaz fight review and analysis

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweights veterans Nate Diaz and Rafael dos Anjos battled last night (Dec. 13, 2014) at UFC on FOX 13 inside U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

With Diaz coming in a shocking four pounds heavy, there were several questions behind how he would perform. Was his inability to make weight simply because of apathy or had the lengthy lightweight drastically failed in his attempt to make 155 pounds?

Meanwhile, dos Anjos remained the professional and made weight without issue. Since the Brazilian was potentially fighting for a title shot, he definitely needed a strong performance.

Diaz looked to land his own awkward kicks early, but dos Anjos began brutalizing Diaz's leg early. Before long, Diaz was limping and switching his stance as dos Anjos was landing his low kicks at will.

Though Diaz was landing some punches, there wasn't much power behind them because of his sore leg. Then, "RDA" landed a takedown and beat on Diaz for the rest of the round, momentarily passing the guard and landing some hard elbows.

Despite taking quite the beating, Diaz walked to his corner undeterred.

Dos Anjos continued to ravage Diaz's leg into the second round. Diaz was clearly having difficult doing much of anything, as he could barely walk, let alone box the Brazilian.

For whatever reason, dos Anjos shot for an easy takedown. While on top, dos Anjos landed some major elbows, one of which opened up Diaz. Despite the damage that he absorbed, Diaz moved back to his feet.

Only to absorb some more low kicks.

The third round went much like the prior two. For a short time, dos Anjos tore up Diaz's legs. He then landed a takedown and landed some damaging elbows, but Diaz's Brazilian jiu-jitsu and toughness prevented the Brazilian from securing a finish.

He did everything but.

Dos Anjos fought basically a perfect fight. On the feet, dos Anjos ripped apart Diaz's base and then smashed him with punches and high kicks. Just a couple minutes into the first round, Diaz couldn't move well enough to defend himself, which makes fighting incredibly difficult.

In addition, dos Anjos maintained a high pace throughout and constantly looked for the finish. In the crowded lightweight division, that's exactly what dos Anjos needed to do.

At this point, dos Anjos either deserves a title shot or title eliminator rematch against Khabib Nurmagomedov.

In addition to missing weight horribly, Diaz accomplished almost nothing in this match. Outside of a few punches in the first and a loose leg lock attempt, Diaz put forth zero offense.

In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if Diaz wants to be released. He's not happy with his contract -- among a dozen other complaints -- and it shows. If Diaz does stay with UFC, a match up with Rustam Khabilov would be entertaining.

At UFC on FOX 13, Rafael dos Anjos thoroughly battered Nate Diaz for three rounds. Can "RDA" capture UFC gold in 2015?

For complete UFC on FOX 13: "Dos Santos vs. Miocic" results and play-by-play click HERE.