Rafael Souza dos Anjos[1] (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁafaˈew duz ˈɐ̃ʒus]; born 26 October 1984), also known by his initials RDA, is a Brazilian and American professional mixed martial artist.

In a 2014 interview, dos Anjos stated that he was a troubled child, getting into fights in his hometown Niterói, Rio de Janeiro.

[20] dos Anjos next faced George Sotiropoulos on 2 July 2011 at UFC 132 after replacing an injured Evan Dunham.

[21] Dos Anjos showcased his vastly improved striking skills, knocking out Sotiropoulos cold in the first round with a right hand.

[24] dos Anjos faced Kamal Shalorus on 15 May 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV: The Korean Zombie vs.

[26] After taking virtually no damage in the fight against Shalorus, dos Anjos quickly returned to face Anthony Njokuani on 11 July 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV: Munoz vs. Weidman, replacing an injured Paul Taylor.

[39] dos Anjos headlined UFC Fight Night 49 against former lightweight champion Benson Henderson on 23 August 2014.

[40] He won the fight via knockout in the first round after dropping Henderson with a flying knee and rendering him unconscious with a follow-up left hook.

[41][42] The win also earned him his first Performance of the Night bonus award and made him the only man to stop Henderson by strikes.

[48] For his first title defense, dos Anjos rematched Donald Cerrone in the main event of UFC on Fox 17 on 19 December 2015.

[49] He won the fight via TKO at just 66 seconds into the first round, resulting in the fastest finish in UFC Lightweight title history.

[51] dos Anjos was expected to face Conor McGregor on 5 March 2016 at UFC 196 for his second title defense of the lightweight belt.

[53] In his second title defense, dos Anjos faced Eddie Alvarez on 7 July 2016 at UFC Fight Night 90.

[56][57] dos Anjos next faced Tony Ferguson on 5 November 2016 at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale.

[60] dos Anjos faced Tarec Saffiedine, former Strikeforce title holder, in a welterweight bout on 17 June 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Holm vs.

[80] The pairing was left intact and rescheduled for 14 November 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. dos Anjos.

[83] Simultaneously, dos Anjos signed a new six-fight contract with the UFC and committed to compete in the lightweight division.

[90] One week before the event, Fiziev was forced to withdraw due to testing positive for COVID-19,[91] and was replaced by Renato Moicano on just 4 days notice at a catchweight of 160 pounds.

[95] dos Anjos faced Bryan Barberena in a welterweight bout on 3 December 2022 at UFC on ESPN 42.

[98] However, the pair was moved to instead fight on 12 August 2023 at UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. dos Anjos for unknown reasons.

[103] He lost the fight via technical knockout in round one after being rendered unable to continue due to an ACL tear (knee injury).

[105][106] A southpaw,[107] he will often come out aggressively in a Muay Thai stance, then use feints and kicks to back his opponent against the cage while swarming them with flurries of punches as well as takedowns.

He is particularly noted for his left kick to the body and right hook to the head; he uses these strikes to limit his opponent's lateral movement as they attempt to get their backs away from the fence.

[111] Dr. Johnny Benjamin has disagreed with dos Anjos, pointing out that the titanium plate in his jaw is measured in millimeters.