UFC

Ali Abdelaziz taunts Tony Ferguson to face Islam Makhachev as Rafael dos Anjos pulls out

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Rafael dos Anjos tested positive for Covid-19 and is out from UFC 254 but Ali Abdelaziz wants to see Tony Ferguson vs Islam Makhachev

Rafael dos Anjos vs Islam Makhachev from UFC 254 is officially off the cards after Dos Anjos tested positive for Covid-19.

The Brazilian posted a message about how disappointed he was but promised to come back stronger.

Rafael dos Anjos of Brazil stands on a weighing scale during the UFC Fight Night official weigh-in in Singapore on June 16, 2017. (Photo credit should read ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

This now leads to a lot of head-scratching for the UFC. Islam needs a rival for the event which is a couple of weeks away, and he has called out new UFC signing Michael Chandler.

Islam is extremely close to UFC Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and still trains with him.

The pair are often seen together during events, and many claim Islam’s fighting style is similar to Khabib’s.

Islam Makhachev celebrates his first round knockout against Gleison Tibau in their Lightweight fight during UFC 220 at TD Garden on January 20, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)

Islam might be looking at an ex-Bellator star but Ali Abdelaziz has other plans. The manager of Khabib and his team called out Tony Ferguson and taunted him to face the Dagestan star.

Abdelaziz and Ferguson have been having a war on Twitter for a while and all this stems from the missed UFC 249 clash between El Cucuy and Khabib.

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Closest you will get to Khabib

The main event of UFC 249 was set to be a Lightweight title clash between Khabib and Ferguson. However, the champion, Khabib, couldn’t make it due to Covid-19 and was stuck in Russia. Ferguson took up a fight instead against Justin Gaethje with the interim Lightweight title on the line.

Gaethje destroyed Ferguson to win the crown and is to face Khabib at UFC 254. Ferguson has been upset ever since that fight got changed, and has called out Khabib for not facing him.

Ferguson vs Islam on the same card as Khabib vs Gaethje might hurt El Cucuy a little, and Abdelaziz claimed this was the closest he would get to fighting Khabib:

Khabib vs Ferguson seems to be a cursed fight as they have been set to meet five times. However, every time something or another has cropped up and the UFC has had to cancel it.

With Ferguson losing to Gaethje, he has fallen down the pecking order, and it is unlikely the UFC will ever see Khabib vs Ferguson take place.

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Saiyed Adeem Karim

Ditching a corporate job to follow a dream isn't easy, but when football comes calling, who can say no? Been following the beautiful game since 1998. Liverpool addict, F1 fanatic!