"It feels great" - Rafael dos Anjos glad to know Islam Makhachev is denied lightweight title shot
Rafael dos Anjos is delighted to hear that Islam Makhachev's claim to a title shot is being denied. RDA believes this is the price Makhachev has to pay for turning down a bout against him.
According to reports, Makhachev turned down a short-notice fight against dos Anjos after publicly offering to fight him at 170 lbs. RDA was eventually put up against Renato Moicano, who took the fight on four days' notice. Dos Anjos believes that the Russian never really intended to fight him.
Dos Anjos told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour:
"It feels great, man. It feels really good. That's the price [Makhachev] pays for playing politics, playing these little games. He had his title shot secured, now he's going to fight another one. I called his bluff. I think that's what it was."
He added:
"His team probably thought that I wouldn't take this fight at 170 [pounds]. But you know what? I was training, I didn't want to waste a whole fight camp, I hadn't fought for 16 months. I just wanted to go there and fight someone."
Watch the latest episode of The MMA Hour below:
Rafael dos Anjos convincingly beat Renato Moicano in the co-main event of UFC 272. He came away with a unanimous decision victory to pick up his second win on the bounce.
Islam Makhachev claims that he wanted the fight
Dana White recently claimed that Islam Makhachev turned down a short-notice fight against Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 272. White also stated that Makhachev would have to go through No.4-ranked Beneil Dariush before he makes a bid for UFC gold.
However, Makhachev is adamant that he did not turn down the fight. Instead, he claimed that it was the UFC who did not want the bout to come to fruition. The Dagestani fighter told ESPN's Brett Okamoto:
"I was in California on vacation, and I called my manager and said, 'Please call the UFC, I am ready to take this fight.' I asked about some conditions, very small conditions, nothing big or not possible to do. It was not the UFC calling me. I wanted this fight, but the UFC did not do it. That's it."
Watch Islam Makhachev's interview with ESPN MMA below:
Makhachev didn't seem concerned about White's comments even though he believes he is next in line for a title shot against the reigning champ, Charles Oliveira. Oliveira is set to defend his title against Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 in May. It remains to be seen how things will play out atop the lightweight division.