Current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight titleholder Rafael dos Anjos was scheduled to fight reigning featherweight champion Conor McGregor in last Saturday night’s (March 5, 2016) UFC 196 pay-per-view (PPV) main event in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Until a broken foot forced him to withdraw.
That prompted UFC matchmakers — after consulting with McGregor — to peg Nate Diaz as the Brazilian’s stand in, which led to an improbable, second-round submission win on just 11 days notice. Dos Anjos, like the rest of the world, tuned in for their 170-pound headliner.
And told MMA Hour he was not impressed.
“Conor did not show a lot of heart. He’s a lion when he’s punching. When he’s getting punched? He becomes a little cat. He has a chicken heart. Everyone saw the truth last Saturday. Even Holly Holm went to sleep without tapping. How are you gonna tap on the neck? On the choke? Go to sleep, be a man. Holly Holm showed more heart than him. He doesn’t deserve (another) fight at 155 pounds. He just got submitted by No. 5 lightweight in the rankings on 10 days notice. A lot of people say, ‘Ah, Conor went up two weight divisions!’ No, Nate Diaz is a 155-pound fighter. He did not fight Robbie Lawler. He did not fight Johny Hendricks. He fought Nate Diaz, which is 155.”
Dos Anjos is open to a future McGregor fight, but only after “Notorious” gets a few more wins under his belt.
That means returning to the featherweight division to face Frankie Edgar, or perhaps Jose Aldo, who was smoked in the UFC 194 main event last December. No McGregor fight means no career-altering payday, but that doesn’t seem to bother Dos Anjos.
“Money is not the most important for me,” he said. “I’m really happy with how much I make and I have everything in my life. Life is not all about money.”