Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos stands in as the backup for the much-hyped trilogy fight between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.
All three fighters made weight successfully at Friday's official weigh-ins and tipped the scale at 156 pounds. Following the ceremony, Conor McGregor and Rafael dos Anjos had an altercation backstage, which was first reported by The Schmo.
In the recently released episode of the UFC 264 Embedded: Vlog Series, we get a glimpse of the confrontation between the two lightweights.
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Have a look at the altercation below:
It seems like Conor McGregor is still not over the fact that he missed out on his title shot against Rafael dos Anjos when the latter had to pull out of UFC 196. In return, RDA said he was ready to take on McGregor anytime, anywhere.
The 'soft f***ing toe' that Conor McGregor talks about in the video as he is being led away by his team is a reference to the broken foot because of which Rafael dos Anjos had to withdraw from the title fight. The Irishman faced Nate Diaz instead, which paved the way for one of the most iconic rivalries of both of their careers as well as UFC history.
Watch the full UFC 264 Embedded: Vlog Series Episode 6 below. The confrontation between McGregor and RDA begins at the 7:00 mark.
Conor McGregor claims he can fight Dustin Poirier and Rafael dos Anjos at the same time
It was reported a couple of days ago by MMA Fighting's Damon Martin that Rafael dos Anjos was spotted cutting weight at the athlete hotel in Las Vegas. At that time, it was not yet officially announced by the UFC that RDA would be posing as a backup fighter for the UFC 264 main event.
After the news broke, Conor McGregor took to Twitter to claim that he could fight Dustin Poirier and Rafael dos Anjos simultaneously inside the octagon. Rafael dos Anjos retaliated with a tweet of his own, accusing Conor McGregor of having 'alcoholic hallucinosis'.
RDA's accusation reads a little bit ironic, given how it comes in the wake of Conor McGregor revealing in his media week interviews that he has not touched alcohol throughout the UFC 264 fight camp.