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Rafael dos Anjos has jibed at Islam Makhachev for allegedly refusing to accept a short-notice fight against him. In the co-main event of UFC 272, dos Anjos was set to take on surging contender Rafael Fiziev.
However, Fiziev was forced to pull out of the fight at the last moment after testing positive for COVID-19. Makhachev, who recently picked up a first-round TKO win over Bobby Green at UFC Vegas 49, took to Twitter and offered to step up on short notice.
Dos Anjos accepted the fight and it seemed like the showdown was on. However, it was later revealed that the Brazilian will be fighting Renato Moicano instead. During an interaction with Barstool Sports, Dana White revealed that Makhachev rejected the bout despite claiming he was ready to go on short notice. He said:
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"I thought we had it done. When I went to bed one of the nights, I thought it was done. Woke up the next morning and found out they turned it down. Islam [turned it down].”
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Rafael dos Anjos took to Twitter to jibe at Makhachev for pulling out of the fight, claiming that "the truth always comes out."
Check out the tweet below:
Islam Makhachev's refusal to fight Rafael dos Anjos further delays a potential title shot for the Dagestani
Islam Makhachev is currently on an incredible 10-fight win streak inside the octagon. Following his latest win against Green, the Dagestani fighter, with just one loss in his entire career, demanded a title shot next. As it now stands, he will have to go through another top-contender before fighting for the title.
Dana White revealed that Makhachev must now get through his original opponent for UFC Vegas 49, Beneil Dariush, since he rejected the short-notice fight against Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 272.
Dariush is currently healing from an ankle injury he picked up heading into UFC Vegas 49 that forced him to withdraw from the fight. He is expected to return later this summer and take on Makhachev in a bout that will determine who competes for the title next.
