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Mar 14, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Anthony Pettis (red) fights Rafael dos Anjos (blue) in the lightweight title bout during UFC 185 at American Airlines Center.


DALLAS – In a major upset, Brazilian lightweight Rafael dos Anjos delivered a one-sided drubbing of Anthony Pettis, taking the American’s belt with a unanimous decision.

Over five rounds, dos Anjos (24-7 MMA, 12-5 UFC) kept Pettis (18-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) on his heels and refused to let him in the fight, outclassing the champ in striking and grappling to earn a shutout on judges’ scorecards with 50-45 tallies.

“Man, it’s such an amazing blessing, when you came in to a fight and knew you were going to win,” dos Anjos, the UFC’s first Brazilian lightweight champion, said afterward in English. “I knew I was going to win before this fight was going to happen.”

The lightweight title bout was the main event of today’s UFC 185 event at American Airlines Center in Dallas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FX and UFC Fight Pass.

Going into the fight, Pettis, ranked No. 1 in USA TODAY/MMAjunkie’s MMA lightweight rankings and No. 5 on the pound-for-pound list, was a 5-1 favorite to beat No. 3 ranked dos Anjos, whose title shot was expedited by the injury of Khabib Nurmagomedov, the only man to beat him in his previous nine outings.

And yet, from the first round, dos Anjos asserted his will as though he were the overwhelming favorite. A straight left hand caught Pettis’ within the first minute and immediately put the champion in trouble. The blow immediately started to swell and hindered his ability to see and defend against punches.

“I couldn’t see out of my eye the whole time,” said Pettis afterward. “I couldn’t see out of my peripheral. No excuses. I’ll be back.”

Then there were body kicks, which slammed repeatedly into Pettis’ flank. When Pettis countered with high kicks that had knocked out previous opponents, dos Anjos took them and kept forward pressure.

Even on the ground, though, Pettis offered few problems for dos Anjos, who landed nine of 10 takedowns and worked effectively with ground and pound while on top. Pettis, who boasts five submission wins in the UFC and now-defnct WEC, was unable to scoot his hips to create an angle for an armbar or triangle. Meanwhile, he took countless elbows and punches on his back.

In the fourth frame, dos Anjos came very close to finishing the fight, securing a kimura that was blocked only by Pettis’ clasped hands. A similar attempt from the bottom was the champ’s last gasp in the fifth and final frame, and dos Anjos eventually powered his way to back control to close out what was a career-defining performance.

“I’m the best in the world,” said dos Anjos, holding his son in his arms. “Thank you Jesus for that. I came from the bottom. I couldn’t imagine in my whole life being here and being the UFC champion.”

Dos Anjos, once a middle-of-the-road competitor in the 155-pound division, is now 9-1 and could meet with winner of an upcoming bout between Nurmagomedov and Donald Cerrone — over whom he holds a previous win — in May at UFC 187.

Pettis, who defeated Benson Henderson to win the WEC and UFC belts, suffers his first loss since being outwrestled by Clay Guida in his octagon debut.

UFC 185 Fight Card Results:

Rafael dos Anjos def. Anthony Pettis via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)

Joanna Jedrzejczyk def. Carla Esparza via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:17

Johny Hendricks def. Matt Brown via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Alistair Overeem def. Roy Nelson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Henry Cejudo def. Chris Cariaso via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Ross Pearson def. Sam Stout via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 1:33

Elias Theodorou def. Roger Narvaez via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:07

Beneil Dariush def. Daron Cruickshank via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:48

Jared Rosholt def. Josh Copeland via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 3:12

Ryan Benoit def. Sergio Pettis via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:34

Joseph Duffy def. Jake Lindsey via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:47

Germaine de Randamie def. Larissa Pacheco via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:02

Video Highlights:

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