Rafael dos Anjos has moved on with his proposed fight against Islam Makhachev, but that doesn’t mean the ex-UFC lightweight champion has forgotten about their rivalry.
With multiple fights between the two contenders scrapped in the past, dos Anjos – No. 8 with 155 pounds in MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings – thought he would finally get the chance to meet Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protégé in March after his original opponent, Rafael Fiziev, was forced out of their scheduled match due to testing positive for COVID. A struggle to find a replacement caused Makhachev to offer his services after fighting a week earlier, but in the end an agreement could not be reached and dos Anjos faced Renato Moicano instead.
Now preparing for Fiziev again, with the match rescheduled for July 9, dos Anjos had a few word choices for Makhachev, especially after a recent remains. on social media.
“Islam is ap****,” dos Anjos told MMA Fighting. “I entered the battle. Straight up, he’s ap****. I took the fight, he took the fight. I went to bed, [I] thought I was going to fight him, then in the morning he tried to say something else. I’m glad Dana White came by and told the truth.
“He’s trying to play cool and he’s trying to play, ‘I’m going to battle.’ He said 170, I said 165, and they stayed [saying] 170. I was 170 when I spoke to the UFC at the time. I was already 170 and sent them the picture on the scales and I was 170. I said, ‘I will take this fight against Islam at 170, I just want to fight. I haven’t fought in so long, I’ve had a tough training camp, I want to fight everyone.’ Then in the morning the deal fell out on his side.”
The problem Anjos had with Makhachev was not that the Dagestani contender refused to engage in a short-lived fight, but rather that Makhachev volunteered to replace Fiziev, only to turn down the opportunity when the UFC made a real effort to to book the match-up.
“I don’t blame anyone for not getting into a fight at short notice, but since you’re making your name known, you should go,” said dos Anjos. “If you don’t give your name, that’s fine. But you can’t [say]’OK, I’m going to fight’ and he accepted, now, ‘I’m not taking it.’ That’s not cool.”
As it stands, Makhachev is still on the sidelines awaiting his next assignment, but he is pushing for a fight with Charles Oliveira to crown a new UFC lightweight champion.
Oliveira was stripped of the title after missing weight at UFC 274, only to impressively beat Justin Gaethje in a first round, naked choke. While most still consider Oliveira to be the best lightweight in the UFC, technically the title remains vacant at this point.
Initially, the UFC planned to book Makhachev against fellow lightweight contender Beneil Dariush to crown a new No. 1 contender, which Oliveira has also suggested.
Dos Anjos really likes that idea, especially given his feelings for Makhachev, but he also believes the scenario could work in his favor in the long run.
“The division is crazy right now,” dos Anjos said. “It used to be crazy, but now it’s even crazier. I believe that if everything goes according to what Dana [White] said: Islam is going to fight Beneil [Dariush] in Abu Dhabi in October. Because Islam is playing all those games against me, he didn’t fight, now Dana is going to punish him and make him fight Beneil and not let him fight for the title.
“If that happens, I’ve heard that the UFC is going to do a big show in Brazil in December, and why not Brazil vs. Brazil? Once I get past Fiziev, I’d be a great fight against Charles.”
Since his return to lightweight, dos Anjos has been determined with his plans to eventually regain the title he held from 2015-16.
A showdown with someone like Oliveira in his native Brazil would be the perfect scenario for dos Anjos, and he plans to seize that opportunity after meeting Fiziev in July.
“We will see who is the best Brazilian lightweight champion of all time,” said dos Anjos. “That would be great.”
As for Makhachev, dos Anjos doesn’t see the rivalry as some kind of unfinished business to be settled. The UFC title is really all he cares about right now.
That said, dos Anjos will be happy to take on Makhachev if the fight is offered. But for now, he has more important things to think about.
“My focus is now 100 percent on Rafael Fiziev,” said dos Anjos. “That’s the name I signed the contract to fight with and that’s the man I’m going to beat on July 9.
“Step by step, but I know we’re in the same division, me and Islam and all these guys, and we’ll probably cross paths in the future.”
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