The majority of dos Anjos' early career took place in his native country of Brazil. He started off his career with a record of 2–2, with both losses coming by way of split decision. dos Anjos then racked up 9 straight victories, which included 6 submissions. His 11–2 record in regional circuits was enough to get him a call from the UFC.
Ultimate Fighting Championship dos Anjos made his UFC debut at
UFC 91, losing to
Jeremy Stephens. The fight was stopped in the third round after an uppercut knocked out dos Anjos. For his second UFC fight, dos Anjos faced
Tyson Griffin at
UFC Fight Night 18. dos Anjos lost the back-and-forth battle via unanimous decision. The bout was awarded
Fight of the Night honors. dos Anjos was scheduled to fight
Matt Wiman on 19 September 2009, at
UFC 103, but due to a knee injury suffered by Wiman, he instead faced
Rob Emerson. dos Anjos got a much-needed win by unanimous decision. dos Anjos then defeated Kyle Bradley via unanimous decision at
UFC Fight Night 20. At
UFC 112, dos Anjos defeated
Terry Etim via second round armbar submission, earning him
Submission of the Night honors. dos Anjos faced
Clay Guida on 7 August 2010, at
UFC 117. Guida appeared to injure the jaw of dos Anjos in the first round with a hook and would go on to defeat dos Anjos by submission (jaw injury) after dos Anjos tapped from the pressure being applied to his jaw while Guida had arm-and-head control. dos Anjos next faced
George Sotiropoulos on 2 July 2011 at
UFC 132 after replacing an injured
Evan Dunham. Dos Anjos showcased his vastly improved striking skills, knocking out Sotiropoulos cold in the first round with a right hand. dos Anjos faced
Gleison Tibau on 19 November 2011 at
UFC 139. He lost the fight via split decision. dos Anjos faced
Kamal Shalorus on 15 May 2012 at
UFC on Fuel TV: The Korean Zombie vs. Poirier. After dropping Shalorus with a head kick, dos Anjos submitted him via rear-naked choke in the first round. After taking virtually no damage in the fight against Shalorus, dos Anjos quickly returned to face
Anthony Njokuani on 11 July 2012 at
UFC on Fuel TV: Munoz vs. Weidman, replacing an injured
Paul Taylor. He won the fight via unanimous decision, dominating Njokuani both in striking and grappling. dos Anjos faced
Mark Bocek on 17 November 2012 at
UFC 154. He won the fight via unanimous decision, once again having the edge in both standup and ground fighting. dos Anjos next faced
Evan Dunham on 18 May 2013, at
UFC on FX 8. He won the fight via unanimous decision. However, there was some controversy, as 10 out of 10 media outlets scored the bout in favor of Dunham. dos Anjos faced
Donald Cerrone on 28 August 2013, at
UFC Fight Night 27. He won the fight via unanimous decision. dos Anjos was expected to face
Rustam Khabilov on 22 February 2014 at
UFC 170. However, the bout was scrapped in the weeks leading up to the event. dos Anjos instead faced
Khabib Nurmagomedov on 19 April 2014 at
UFC on Fox 11. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. dos Anjos faced
Jason High on 7 June 2014 at
UFC Fight Night 42. He won the fight via TKO in the second round. dos Anjos headlined
UFC Fight Night 49 against former lightweight champion
Benson Henderson on 23 August 2014. He won the fight via knockout in the first round after dropping Henderson with a flying knee and rendering him unconscious with a follow-up left hook. The win also earned him his first
Performance of the Night bonus award and made him the only man to stop Henderson by strikes. dos Anjos faced
Nate Diaz on 13 December 2014, at
UFC on Fox 13. He won the fight by unanimous decision. He dominated the first two rounds with superior striking and vicious leg kicks with the third round being controlled by dos Anjos on the mat.
UFC Lightweight Championship dos Anjos faced
Anthony Pettis for the
UFC Lightweight Championship on 14 March 2015 at
UFC 185. dos Anjos won the bout via unanimous decision in a dominant fashion. After the fight, dos Anjos revealed that he had torn his MCL only a few weeks before the bout. The win once again earned him a
Performance of the Night bonus award. For his first title defense, dos Anjos rematched
Donald Cerrone in the main event of
UFC on Fox 17 on 19 December 2015. He won the fight via TKO at just 66 seconds into the first round, resulting in the fastest finish in UFC Lightweight title history. The win also earned dos Anjos his third
Performance of the Night bonus award. dos Anjos was expected to face
Conor McGregor on 5 March 2016 at
UFC 196 for his second title defense of the lightweight belt. However, it was announced on 23 February that dos Anjos had been forced out of the fight after breaking his foot during training. In his second title defense, dos Anjos faced
Eddie Alvarez on 7 July 2016 at
UFC Fight Night 90. Despite closing as a three-to-one favorite to win the fight, he lost the bout via TKO in the first round. Reports arose after the Alvarez fight that dos Anjos had passed out for three minutes moments before going out to fight, and that this was due to the effects of the gruelling weight cut.
Post championship dos Anjos next faced
Tony Ferguson on 5 November 2016 at
The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Both participants were awarded
Fight of the Night for their performance.
Move to Welterweight dos Anjos faced
Tarec Saffiedine, former
Strikeforce title holder, in a welterweight bout on 17 June 2017 at
UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Correia. He won the fight via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, and 29–28). dos Anjos faced
Neil Magny on 9 September 2017 at
UFC 215. He won the fight via arm-triangle choke submission in the first round. This win also earned dos Anjos his fourth
Performance of the Night bonus award. In a title eliminator, dos Anjos faced
Robbie Lawler on 16 December 2017 in the main event at
UFC on Fox: Lawler vs. dos Anjos. dos Anjos' fight plan relied heavily on low leg kicks and constant combos consisting of body shots and leg kicks. He won the fight by unanimous decision. dos Anjos fought
Colby Covington on 9 June 2018, at
UFC 225 for the
Interim UFC Welterweight Championship. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. dos Anjos faced
Kamaru Usman on 30 November 2018 at
The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. dos Anjos faced
Kevin Lee in Lee's welterweight debut at
UFC Fight Night 152 on 18 May 2019. He won the fight via an arm triangle submission in the fourth round. dos Anjos faced
Leon Edwards on 20 July 2019 at
UFC on ESPN 4. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. dos Anjos faced
Michael Chiesa on 25 January 2020, at
UFC Fight Night 166. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Return to Lightweight dos Anjos was expected to face
Islam Makhachev on 24 October 2020, in dos Anjos' return to the lightweight division at
UFC 254. However, on 8 October it was reported that dos Anjos tested positive for
COVID-19 and he was removed from the bout. The pairing was left intact and rescheduled for 14 November 2020 at
UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. dos Anjos. However, on 8 November it was reported that Makhachev was forced to pull from the event due to injuries. On a quick turnaround, it was announced that
Paul Felder stepped up to replace Makhachev on five days notice. Simultaneously, dos Anjos signed a new six-fight contract with the UFC and committed to compete in the lightweight division. dos Anjos went on to defeat Felder via split decision. This fight earned him the
Fight of the Night awards. The bout with Makhachev was rescheduled and was expected to take place on 30 October 2021 at
UFC 267. However, yet again, dos Anjos was forced to pulled from the event, citing injury, and was replaced by
Dan Hooker. dos Anjos was scheduled to face
Rafael Fiziev on 19 February 2022 at
UFC Fight Night 201. However, the bout was postponed to
UFC 272 due to visa issues with Fiziev. One week before the event, Fiziev was forced to withdraw due to
testing positive for COVID-19, and was replaced by
Renato Moicano on just 4 days notice at a catchweight of 160 pounds. dos Anjos won the fight via unanimous decision. The bout against Fiziev was rescheduled for the third time for
UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Fiziev on 9 July 2022. He lost the fight via knockout in round five.
Return to Welterweight dos Anjos faced
Bryan Barberena in a welterweight bout on 3 December 2022 at
UFC on ESPN 42. He won via neck crank in the second round. From this bout, Dos Anjos surpassed
Frankie Edgar for longest fight time and is the first fighter to reach 8 hours of fight time in UFC history. dos Anjos was scheduled to face
Vicente Luque on 15 July 2023 at
UFC on ESPN 49. However, the pair was moved to instead fight on 12 August 2023 at
UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. dos Anjos for unknown reasons. Dos Anjos lost the fight via unanimous decision. dos Anjos faced
Mateusz Gamrot in a lightweight bout on 9 March 2024 at
UFC 299. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. dos Anjos faced
Geoff Neal on 26 October 2024 at
UFC 308. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round one after being rendered unable to continue due to an ACL tear (knee injury). ==Fighting style==