The main event of UFC Vegas 14 was all about Paul Felder. The top-10 lightweight contender was originally scheduled to appear on the show only as a color commentator. Instead, on just five days’ notice, he stepped into the main event as a fighter, cut 22 pounds in less than a week, and battled for five full rounds in what has to be considered one of the bravest efforts in UFC history.

But afterwards, it all became about his opponent. Rafael dos Anjos is himself one of the gamest scrappers to ever grace the 155-pound division, having spent the last 12 years fighting perhaps the single toughest strength-of-schedule of anyone in the world. RDA is an absolute badass who has always been down to fight all comers, and he belongs in any just MMA Hall of Fame.

RDA rocketed to the top of the world in 2015, when he beat Anthony Pettis – then considered the sport’s undisputed future at lightweight – to win the UFC title after years as an underrated and under-the-radar contender. For those who had known all along how good RDA was and feared he may never get his day in the sun, it was a magnificent moment to watch.

But dos Anjos entered the main event on Saturday night at a career crossroads. RDA had jumped to the welterweight division after losing the lightweight title to Eddie Alvarez in 2016, and although he had initial success 15 pounds up, he had lost four of his last five. In true RDA fashion, the guys who beat him all are counted among the best welterweights on Earth – Colby Covington, current champ Kamaru Usman, Leon Edwards, Michael Chiesa – but it was obvious that as he approached his late 30s, with over 40 pro fights on his resume, and with his traditional weakness to the types of high-level wrestlers that currently dominate the UFC welterweight division, RDA wasn’t going to be an elite 170-pounder at this stage of his career.

The fight with Felder, which was originally supposed to be against rising star Islam Makhachev, was a platform to show that RDA could still be a force at his old division, lightweight. And now, in a division where Khabib Nurmagomedov has retired but the future of the belt is uncertain, Rafael dos Anjos has submitted his name right back in the mix.

Dos Anjos’ dominant decision win over Felder comes with plenty of caveats. Felder, by his own admission, hadn’t stepped foot in an MMA gym in four months, having spent the time since his hard-fought loss to Dan Hooker in February training for a triathlon. He didn’t have anything approaching an actual camp, and had to navigate a difficult weight cut with minimal preparation.

But that works both ways as well. Felder didn’t have much time to prepare for dos Anjos, but neither did dos Anjos for Felder. RDA spent the previous months drilling for Makhachev, a combat sambo world champion and powerful grappler, not Felder, a skilled and technical striker. Dos Anjos took care of business anyway.

It wasn’t always a pretty performance – dos Anjos spent much of the fight pushing Felder against the fence, driving for takedowns – but the way RDA asserted his will against one of the best lightweights in the world was impressive to watch. Leaner than usual due to his high-intensity cardio training, Felder looked quicker than ever on the feet, but RDA saw a strength advantage he could exploit, and he exploited all of it.

Dos Anjos took Felder down repeatedly and turned him into a bloody mess with his ground-and-pound, providing one of the big edges on the scorecards. But it shouldn’t be forgotten that RDA also gave Felder all kinds of issues on the feet: the Brazilian veteran looked sharp and powerful, repeatedly finding a home for his left hand, landing heavy body kicks, and I thought landing the better shots throughout the fight.

Felder absolutely had his moments in the fight, and should be celebrated for the effort he gave. But Rafael dos Anjos looked every bit the fighter who was one of the best lightweights in the world four years ago. At 36 years old, he turned in a dominant performance against a top 10-ranked 155-pounder, flawlessly executing the kind of game plan that was most likely to succeed given the circumstances.

With his striking ability and his talent for submissions on the ground, he has a lot of other avenues to success against the rest of the lightweight division. And physically, 16 years and 43 pro fights didn’t appear to show on his body much, if at all.

Rafael dos Anjos looks like he could still be a factor at MMA’s toughest division. And the UFC’s official rankings reflect that – after the win over Felder, RDA was inserted as the No. 6 contender at 155. It looks like, after all these years, RDA is still going to be fighting the best.