It seemed like Rafael Dos Anjos and Islam Makhachev were sure to square off this past weekend at UFC 272 after his planned fight with Rafael Fiziev was called off due to Fiziev contracting COVID. Both Dos Anjos and Makhachev agreed to fight one another until it was seemingly called off throughout the night.
When the news came out that Fiziev was out of his fight with Dos Anjos, Makhachev was one of the fighters that put his name out there to fight on short notice. Both had a mutual interest in the fight but Dana White received a call that the fight was off the next morning.
Dos Anjos was willing to go all the way up to Welterweight to fight Makhachev and still refused to fight.
“You heard what Dana said. Islam didn’t take the fight. I said 165, and he could’ve done 165, but he said 170. I said I’d do 170 no problem, I even showed my scale after training at 171.”
He also even talks about Makhachev asking for an absorbent amount of money for taking this short-notice fight.
“I heard he asked for like a million dollars or something to fight. That’s what I heard.” Dos Anjos reveals on The MMA Hour
Dana White says that now after Makhachev turned down the fight against Dos Anjos, he will now have to take on Beneil Dariush for the next title shot. Did Makhachev shoot himself in the foot by agreeing to fight Dos Anjos and then refuse to fight all within 24 hours?