UFC champ Rafael dos Anjos responds to Conor McGregor, Bobby Green

UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos can rest easy knowing there’s now a target on his back – and a lot of people are going to take shots.

Already, the newly minted Brazilian champ is courting hecklers who apparently were not impressed by his dismantling of Anthony Pettis in March at UFC 185. There’s featherweight title challenger (and former lightweight) Conor McGregor (24-7 MMA, 12-5 UFC), which should come as no surprise. Then there’s lightweight Bobby Green (12-3-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC).

The former issued a pretty standard threat while the latter lobbed a pretty serious accusation.

Conor McGregor

To be fair, McGregor was responding to dos Anjos (24-7 MMA, 12-5 UFC), who got things started when he advised the Irish contender to stay in the 145-pound division. McGregor, in turn, promised to come after his belt after facing featherweight champ Jose Aldo at UFC 189.

You can imagine dos Anjos’ worry.

“Man, Conor I think he has a big problem ahead,” the lightweight champ told MMAjunkie Radio. “Jose Aldo is a great fighter, and he’s the champion. He’s undefeated for, like, 10 years. But Conor, he’s trying to promote his next fight.

“I think he needs to take care of Aldo, because the featherweight division is a shark tank. He better stay in the featherweight division. He’s trying to promote himself, but I think he’s should take care of Aldo. Aldo is going to be a big problem for him.”

In the case of Green, however, things get a little more personal. The UFC lightweight standout is of the opinion that dos Anjos’ performance is enhanced. He compared the champ to Barry Bonds in the way he’s undergone a career resurgence at a time when others are fading.

Bobby Green

“I was surprised when he said that, because we trained once together, and that day when we met each other, he was so nice to me,” dos Anjos said of the PED allegations. “He was saying he was a big fan of mine; ‘Hey man, it’s a big pleasure to train with you,’ and blah, blah, blah. And then after we trained and after the fight that he said that, I was really surprised.

“But next time, I’m not going to take it easy on him, because I took it easy on him. Next time, I’m going to go hard, man.”

If, of course, they even see each other in the gym. Green faces Al Iaquinta on July 15 at UFC Fight Night 71 while dos Anjos has several dates with a physical therapist; he injured his MCL prior to his title-winning performance.

One thing is for sure: Dos Anjos won’t roll out the welcome mat.

“I’m not his friend,” he said. “I met him one time. He showed up late to training at Reign Training Center, Mark Munoz’s gym. He asked me to do a round of sparring; I said, ‘OK, let’s do it.’ He said, ‘Nice you meet you,’ and blah blah blah. He was so nice that day. But when I sparred him, I kicked him, and he complained about the kicks; ‘Rafael, Rafael no kicks.’ So we just sparred boxing and takedowns. But I don’t know why he said that. In Brazil, we say if your star doesn’t shine, don’t try to take somebody else’s.”

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