Rafael dos Anjos claims Khabib Nurmagomedov agreed to return and face him; Ali Abdelaziz reacts
Even though it has been months since Khabib Nurmagomedov retired, UFC lightweights are still calling him out for a fight.
Rafael dos Anjos has now claimed that 'The Eagle' agreed to come out of retirement to avenge the loss of his pupil and close friend Islam Makhachev at the hands of the Brazilian. In a recent tweet, Rafael dos Anjos stated that the UFC booked him in a fight against Islam Makhachev on October 30 in Abu Dhabi that RDA accepted.
"I just heard back from the UFC that Islam accepted to fight me Oct 30 5 rounds in Abu Dhabi and Khabib agreed to come out of retirement to avenge his brother’s loss after that," Rafael dos Anjos wrote.
ESPN's Brett Okamoto reported on the matter soon afterward, following a conversation with Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov's manager Ali Abdelaziz. Per Okamoto's tweet, Abdelaziz confirmed that the UFC wants Islam Makhachev to fight in October, but the Dagestani is currently flying back to Russia and wants to fight no sooner than December.
As for Khabib Nurmagomedov, Ali Abdelaziz dismissed any possibility of his return and pointed out that he has already fought and defeated Rafael dos Anjos once before.
When Khabib Nurmagomedov faced Rafael dos Anjos
In the lead-up to his UFC lightweight championship win, Rafael dos Anjos had faced Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC on Fox 11. He was originally set to face Rustam Khabilov at UFC 170, but the bout got scrapped, and RDA faced 'The Eagle' instead.
Khabib Nurmagomedov picked up a unanimous decision and went on to break RDA's five-fight winning streak that included a decision win over Donald Cerrone in his previous contest.
Islam Makhachev called out Rafael dos Anjos after UFC Vegas 31
Islam Makhachev and Rafael dos Anjos were scheduled to lock horns twice before, but the bouts were canceled on both occasions. They were supposed to meet at UFC 254, but RDA tested positive for COVID-19. The second time, Islam Makhachev had to withdraw from UFC Vegas 14 due to a staph infection.
It was clear from Makhachev's UFC Vegas 31 post-fight interview that he is not letting go of the matchup just yet. After going through Thiago Moises with a fourth-round submission, Makhachev called dos Anjos out and agreed to give him 3-4 months to train, but he made it clear that he wanted the fight no matter what.
Trying to finish Khabib Nurmagomedov's 'unfinished business,' Islam Makhachev also called out Tony Ferguson and then Michael Chandler at the event.
A couple of days after the fight, Islam Makhachev took to Twitter to take a shot at the three UFC lightweights that he challenged at the Vegas 31 event and called them out on their 'radio silence.' He also said they were all waiting for Conor McGregor to return, implying that his fellow 155-pounders were eyeing a big payday instead of fighting him.
While Tony Ferguson is yet to respond and Michael Chandler acknowledged the call-out live on air on the day of the event itself, it seems like Rafael dos Anjos has broken 'radio silence' and is ready to accept a fight against Islam Makhachev once again.