Resurgent lightweight veteran Renato Carneiro has agreed to replace the ailing Rafael Fiziev against Rafael Dos Anjos in the UFC 272 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event, according to MMA Fighting, a five-round catchweight bout contested at 160 pounds. So what happened to Dos Anjos vs. Islam Makhachev at welterweight?
“I called his bluff and he folded,” the Brazilian wrote on Twitter. “Let’s move on.”
After a promising (but ultimately unsuccessful) run at 170 pounds, Dos Anjos (30-13) returned to lightweight with a split-decision win over Paul Felder in Nov. 2020. As for Carneiro (16-4-1), he bounced back from a knockout loss to Fiziev to capture back-to-back victories over Jai Herbert and Alexander Hernandez, with both contests ending by way of submission.
Fiziev was felled by COVID-19 and does not yet have a timetable for his UFC return.
“I called out RDA and I still want that fight when my health will allow me to compete again,” Fiziev wrote on social media. “Apologies to him, but saying that I was faking it is complete nonsense. Time will put everything in place.”
UFC 272 takes place this Sat. night (March 5) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
UFC 272 will be headlined by the welterweight grudge match between Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal. Elsewhere on the card, Kevin Holland makes his welterweight return opposite Alex Oliveira while Edson Barboza and Bryce Mitchell hook ‘em up at 145 pounds.
For the rest of the UFC 272 fight card and PPV lineup click here.