‘Straight Up, He’s a P****’- Rafael dos Anjos Hasn’t Moved Past Missed Opportunity to Fight Islam Makhachev

Posted on by Matt James

Former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos opened up about a former opponent who has been in the headlines all throughout the week as he stands as the next man in line to fight for the vacant lightweight belt. That man is Islam Makhachev and dos Anjos hasn’t forgotten about the numerous occasions that he was targeted to face Makhachev during his come-up.

Now that Islam Makhachev is about to fight Charles Oliveira for undisputed gold, Rafael dos Anjos can’t help but feel as though Makhechev ducked him on earlier occasions.

“Islam is a p****,” dos Anjos told MMA Fighting. “I took the fight. Straight up, he’s a p****. I took the fight, he took the fight. I went to bed, [I] thought I’m going to fight him, and then in the morning he tried to say otherwise. I’m glad Dana White came over and said the truth.

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How close was Rafael dos Anjos vs Islam Makhachev at welterweight?

Following a bout cancelation, Rafael dos Anjos needed someone to come up on short notice and Makhachev reportedly threw his name in the hat. However, much to the chagrin of the former champion, the fight never materialized.

“He’s trying to play cool and he’s trying to play, ‘I’m going to take the fight.’ He said 170, I said 165, and they kept [saying] 170. I was 170 when I was speaking to the UFC at the time. I was already 170 and sent them the picture on the scale and I was 170. I said, ‘I’ll take this fight against Islam at 170, I just want to fight. I haven’t fought in so long, I had a hard training camp, I want to fight anybody.’ Then in the morning, the deal fell out on his side.” [h/t mmafighting.com].

Rafael dos Anjos has always been a tough outing for everyone and the former champion has served as a challenging litmus test for anyone looking to make a genuine run towards the belt. Makhachev’s mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, had to go through ‘RDA’ during his rise and it helped him attain legitimacy in the eyes of the fans.

UFC President Dana White has gone on record to christen dos Anjos as a worthy test for anyone and it’s a shame we haven’t got to see Islam Makhachev test himself against Rafael dos Anjos’ varied skillset.