Champ dos Anjos: Cerrone-Nurmagomedov tough to call, but 'I want Khabib to win'

Rafael dos Anjos

New UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos (24-7 MMA, 13-5 UFC) will be on the shelf until later this year as he nurses a knee injury, but it seems his next challenger will be determined next month. The champ believes it’s a tough fight to call, but he’s got a preference as to the result.

“I think Khabib (Nurmagomedov) has a tough task,” dos Anjos told MMAjunkie. “(Donald) Cerrone is a tough guy. I fought them both, and I know Cerrone is a tough fight for anyone. He’s a great fighter. But I don’t know how Khabib is going to do with that. He’s had to train through injuries, and he hasn’t fought in a while.

“Cerrone has been fighting a lot. So it’s going to be a good fight. I want Khabib to win because I would love to fight him again.”

Cerrone (27-6 MMA, 14-3 UFC) and Nurmagomedov (22-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) meet at next month’s UFC 187 event, which takes place on May 23 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena and airs on pay-per-view. With Nurmagomedov ranked at No. 2 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings and Cerrone checking in just behind at No. 4, the bout is expected to serve as a No. 1 contender matchup.

Dos Anjos beat Cerrone in an August 2013 contest and then came up short against Nurmagomedov in their April 2014 meeting. The loss is dos Anjos’ only setback in his past 10 appearances.

Before dos Anjos can face either fighter, though, he must be cleared by doctors to return from a partially torn MCL suffered in the lead-up to his UFC 185 win over Anthony Pettis to take the belt.

“The doctor gave me three months off,” dos Anjos said. “I don’t have to have surgery because it was a partial tear. I just need to rest and not train. He said the first 45 days to two months are the most important, so I really have to take it easy.”

Dos Anjos said his training is currently limited to cardio exercises on a stationary bike, as well as working out in a pool. The key, he believes, is to be patient in his rehab and not try to rush the healing process.

“I love training, but I need to rest and heal up,” dos Anjos said. “I’m still doing my rehab. My knee isn’t quite well enough for training yet, but life as a champion has been great. I’m excited to come back and train again.

“I don’t like to be hurt, but I’ve got to be careful. I don’t want to start training when I’m 80 percent or 90 percent. I want to be 100 percent.”

In the meantime, dos Anjos said he’s enjoying his time as a UFC champion and believes holding the belt has earned him some much-deserved respect from critics who may have overlooked him in the past. It’s also driving him to work even harder on his return to maintain his status as champ.

“It’s nice to be seen as one of the best pond-for-pound fighters in the world,” dos Anjos said. “All the work I’ve done my whole life is paying off, and I feel this is just the beginning. I trained so hard to get in this position, and for sure I’m going to train twice as hard to keep this position.”

So dos Anjos will wait patiently to see how things unfold. He plans on attending UFC 187 to scout his next opponent up close, and then he’ll wait for doctors to give him the green light. When it’s all said and done, and allowing for the 12-to-13 week camp dos Anjos wants to be in peak condition, the champ said “the end of the year” would be a perfect time for his first title defense.

And if it could be against Nurmagomedov, all the better, said dos Anjos. But he’ll worry about that after UFC 187.

“I’m just enjoying my life and enjoying my family,” dos Anjos said. “I want to thank everyone for all the support. This is just the beginning. I’m going to keep this belt a long time.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, including UFC 187, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.