Islam Makhachev and Rafael dos Anjos
Islam Makhachev will fight former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos next
Islam Makhachev vs Rafael dos Anjos will take place at UFC 267 in Fight Island, Abu Dhabi. The event is set to take place on the 30th of October, later this year, and is headlined by a light-heavyweight title bout between Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira.
The announcement comes in the wake of several back and forths between Makhachev and dos Anjos on social media.
The news was confirmed by various news outlets including ESPN and MMA Fighting after dos Anjos had posted the same on his social media a couple of weeks ago.
Makhachev is coming off a submission victory over Thiago Moises at UFC Vegas 31, which concluded a fortnight ago.
The Dagestani is also on an eight-fight win streak. He has not lost a fight since October 2015, which has also been the only loss in his MMA career.
Rafael dos Anjos, on the other hand, is coming off a split decision victory in November 2020, over the now-retired Paul Felder.
Prior to that, the former lightweight champion tried his hand in the welterweight division. After a bright start in a new division, dos Anjos began fading of late, prompting a move back to the lightweight division.
Islam Makhachev’s manager Ali Abdelaziz told Brett Okamoto of ESPN that the winner of the fight between Makhachev and dos Anjos must be fighting for the lightweight title next.
Okamoto mentioned the same in his tweet that read:
“I’m looking at this as a No. 1 contender’s match. The winner should fight for the title…If Islam wins, he should fight for the title next. And I’m predicting a finish by submission late in the second round or early in the third.”
The lightweight title fight will be held by Charles Oliveira or Dustin Poirier by the time the winner of Makhachev-RDA faces the lightweight champion.
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