"Dana White, you f**ked it up" - Josh Thomson on Islam Makhachev vs. Rafael dos Anjos falling through
Josh Thomson believes Dana White dropped the ball by failing to put together a scrap between Islam Makhachev and Rafael dos Anjos for UFC 272.
Speaking on the Weighing In podcast with John McCarthy, Thomson said White made a huge blunder by missing out on another opportunity to book the Makhachev vs. dos Anjos showdown.
"I want to quickly just say, Dana White, you f***ed it up... I think Islam's making probably a little bit more money than Moicano, this card's already taken quite a bit of a hit already in terms of money. I wish they would've done it, man... But, there might have been pay-per-view numbers involved. There might've been whatever it was with Islam that Moicano was not getting."
Watch the full video below:
Dos Anjos was scheduled to take on Rafael Fiziev in the co-main event of UFC 272. Unfortunately, 'Ataman' had to withdraw from the fight due to COVID-19.
170 ??? Let’s do it. We have unfinished business RDA @ufc @espnmma @bokamotoESPN @MMAjunkieJohn twitter.com/MMAJunkie/stat…
Makhachev offered to step-in as a short-notice replacement to fight the former lightweight champion. The Brazilian accepted the challenge but the fight eventually did not come to fruition.
Rafael dos Anjos has now been matched up against fellow Brazilian Renato Moicano for a five-round bout in the co-main event spot.
rounds on 
5️⃣ rounds on 5️⃣ days notice!
@MoicanoUFC steps in to face @RdosAnjosMMA in your 𝗡𝗘𝗪 #UFC272 co-main event 😤
[ #UFC272 | Saturday | Live on ESPN+ PPV: 3K2nVJI ] https://t.co/yX5pCI1MWC
Dana White says Islam Makhachev turned down the Rafael dos Anjos fight
There was confusion among the MMA community as to why Islam Makhachev vs. Rafael dos Anjos did not get finalized after both fighters had agreed to the scrap.
UFC president Dana White revealed in a Barstool Sports interview that it was the Dagestani who turned down the fight.
"I thought we had it done. When I went to bed one of the nights, I thought it was done. Woke up the next morning and found out they turned it down. Islam [turned it down],” said White.
Watch the clip below:
Dana on Islam/RDA: "I thought we had it done. I went to bed one of the nights I thought it was done and woke up the next morning and [Makhachev] turned it down."
Dana says Makhachev/Dariush is next. https://t.co/ZqmGMRa608
White added that after Makhachev's refusal to fight the Brazilian at UFC 272, he was planning to re-book the Dagestani to take on Beneil Dariush in a potential No.1 contender bout.