Rafael dos Anjos has moved on from 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 these two competitors having been abandoned in the past dos Anjos — no. 8 at 155 pounds in MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings — thought he was finally going to get the chance to face Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protege back in March after his original opponent, Rafael Fiziev, was forced out of their scheduled contest due to a positive test for COVID. After Makhachev had fought one week prior, a scramble was made to find another fighter. However, an agreement could not be reached so dos Anjos faced Renato Moicano.
Now as he prepares for Fiziev again, with the bout rescheduled for July 9, dos Anjos had some choice words for Makhachev, especially after a recent dust up on social media.
“Islam is a p****,” dos Anjos told MMA Fighting. I took the fight. He’s a p ****.. I took the fight, he took the fight. I went to bed, [I] thought I’m going to fight him, and then in the morning he tried to say otherwise. Dana White was a great help and I am glad he told the truth.
“He’s trying to play cool and he’s trying to play, ‘I’m going to take the fight.’ He said 170, I said 165, and they kept [saying] 170. I was 170 when I was speaking to the UFC at the time. I was already 170 and sent them the picture on the scale and I was 170. “I will fight Islam at 170,. I want to fight.” He said, “I’ll take this fight against Islam at 170, I just want to fight.”
The problem dos Anjos faced with Makhachev was not that the Dagestani fighter refused to fight in a quick-notice bout, but that Makhachev offered to fill Fiziev’s shoes only to decline the UFC’s offer to book the matchup.
“I don’t blame anybody for not taking a fight on short-notice, but since you put your name out there, you’ve got to go,” dos Anjos said. It’s okay if you don’t want to put your name. But you can’t [say], ‘OK, I’m taking the fight’ and he accepted, now, ‘I’m not taking it.’ That’s not cool.”
As it stands now, Makhachev remains on the sidelines, awaiting his next assignment. However, he has been pushing for Charles Oliveira’s fight to make him UFC lightweight champion.
Oliveira was stripped of the title after missing weight at UFC 274 only to vanquish Justin Gaethje in impressive fashion with a first-round rear-naked choke. Although most people still consider Oliveira the UFC’s best lightweight, technically the title is vacant.
Initially, the UFC planned to book Makhachev against fellow lightweight contender Beneil Dariush to crown a new No. 1 contender, which is what Oliveira has suggested as well.
Dos Anjos likes that idea very much, especially given his feelings towards Makhachev, but he also believes the scenario could play to his favor in the long run.
“The division is crazy right now,” dos Anjos said. It was insane before but it is even more crazy now. I believe if everything is going according to what Dana [White] said, Islam is going to fight Beneil [Dariush] in October in Abu Dhabi. Because Islam played all these games against him, he did not take up the fight. Now Dana will punish him and force him to fight Beneil. He isn’t going to be allowed to compete for the belt.
“If that happens, I heard the UFC is going to do a big show in Brazil in December, and why not Brazil vs. Brazil? Once I get past Fiziev, me against Charles would be a great fight.”
Ever since returning to lightweight, dos Anjos has been single-minded with his plans to eventually reclaim the title he held from 2015-16.
Facing somebody like Oliveira in his native Brazil would be the perfect scenario for dos Anjos, and he fully intends to call for that opportunity after facing Fiziev in July.
” We’ll find out who the greatest Brazilian lightweight champion is,” dos Anjos stated. “That would be great.”
As far as Makhachev goes, dos Anjos isn’t looking at the rivalry as some sort of unfinished business that needs to be settled. The UFC title is really all he cares about now.
Dos Anjos would gladly take on Makhachev, if offered. But for now he has more important things to think about.
“My focus right now is 100 percent on Rafael Fiziev,” dos Anjos said. “That’s the name that I signed the contract to fight against and that’s the guy that I’m going to beat on July 9.
“Step by step, but I know we are in the same division, me and Islam and all of these guys, and we’re probably going to cross paths in the future.”
