UFC 139 Fight Card Primer: Gleison Tibau vs. Rafael dos Anjos

Image via UFC.com

Normally a fight like this would at least get televised, but this card is pretty deep. It seems like Brazilians don't fight each other that often in the UFC, but that's not the case on Saturday night. Gleison Tibau (23-7, 1 NC, 9-5 UFC) meets Rafael dos Anjos (15-5, 4-3 UFC) in a lightweight bout at UFC 139.

Both fighters are ranked at lightweight on the USA Today/BE Consensus Rankings, with dos Anjos sitting at 18 and Tibau sitting one spot below him at 19. This is the only bout between two ranked fighters on the undercard. This lightweight UFC 139 fight will be streamed live on Facebook. The Facebook stream begins at approximately 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.

How do these two stack up?

Tibau: 28 years old | 5'10" | 71" reach
Dos Anjos: 27 years old | 5'9" | 71" reach

What have these two done recently?

Tibau: W - Rafaello Oliveira (SUB) | W - Kurt Pellegrino (SD) | L - Jim Miller (UD)
Dos Anjos: W - George Sotiropoulos (KO) | L - Clay Guida (SUB) | W - Terry Etim (SUB)

How did these two get here?

Gleison Tibau made his UFC debut way back in late 2006, where he was TKO'd by current Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz at welterweight. He dropped to lightweight after that fight, where he's been ever since. He's had an up-and-down career in the UFC, never putting together more than three wins in a row, yet only losing two in a row once in his tenure. He has won 6 of his last 8, most recently picking up a submission win over Rafaello Oliveira at UFC 130.

UFC 139 Results | Dan Henderson Interview | Weigh-In Results

Rafael dos Anjos has had some bad luck in his UFC career so far. He dropped his first two fights in the UFC, but was in complete control of Jeremy Stephens until he was put out by a popeye punch in the third, and he had Tyson Griffin in a deep calf slicer that most anyone else would have tapped to. Tyson didn't though, and RDA dropped the decision. He rebounded with three straight wins and was given a shot at Clay Guida. The fight was very even into the third, until Guida broke Rafael's jaw and he was forced to tap out. He returned to face George Sotiropoulos at UFC 127, and picked up the biggest win of his career with a 59 second knockout. He'll look to build on that with a win over the gigantic Tibau.

Why should you care?

While Tibau isn't the most exciting guy in the cage, dos Anjos always brings it and is a top-notch fighter. This bout will be really good.

More UFC 139 preview coverage from Bloody Elbow after the jump.