Rafael dos Anjos vs. Jason High set for UFC Fight Night 42 in Albuquerque
The lightweight division will get a new member when the UFC makes its first trip to Albuquerque, N.M.
Jason High (18-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) will drop to 155 pounds from welterweight to take on Rafael dos Anjos (20-7 MMA, 9-5 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 42. UFC officials announced the new fight booking overnight.
UFC Fight Night 42 takes place June 7 at Albuquerque’s Tingley Coliseum. The event’s main card is expected to air on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on UFC Fight Pass, though an official announcement has yet to be made.
High is the exception to the rule in dropping down a weight class in that he’s not coming off a loss. In fact, he has two straight wins at welterweight and has won nine of his past 10. He returned to the UFC in June 2013 after a 3-0 run in Strikeforce, but was stopped by Erick Silva in 71 seconds in Brazil. But then he submitted James Head at UFC Fight Night 27 and outpointed Anthony Lapsley at UFC 167 in November.
After the win over Lapsley, High talked about moving to lightweight, but was booked for a two-month turnaround in a welterweight fight with Adlan Amagov. He was handed Beneil Dariush when Amagov had to pull out, but then a bout of appendicitis took High out of the fight, as well.
Dos Anjos has his next assignment in a hurry. Less than two weeks ago, he dropped a decision to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC on FOX 11, which halted a five-fight winning streak that included decision wins over Donald Cerrone, Evan Dunham, Mark Bocek and Anthony Njokuani.
The latest UFC Fight Night 42 card includes:
Benson Henderson vs. Rustam Khabilov
Ross Pearson vs. Diego Sanchez
Bryan Caraway vs. Erik Perez
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Jason High
Lance Benoist vs. Bobby Voelker
John Dodson vs. John Moraga
Yaotzin Meza vs. Sergio Pettis
Yves Edwards vs. Piotr Hallmann
Francimar Barroso vs. Patrick Cummins
Scott Jorgensen vs. Danny Martinez
