Islam Makhachev could be running the Rafael dos Anjos fight next but there is a Khabib Nurmagomedov catch in all this
Rising UFC star Islam Makhachev is searching for his next fight and he could be running one that was cancelled a while back.
Makhachev and Rafael dos Anjos were to fight at UFC 254. However, both stars suffered some problems and that fight was removed.
However, Dos Anjos seems keen on having a go at Makhachev now. The Russian called out the former UFC Champion but Dos Anjos had a stipulation when revisiting the Makhachev clash.
Makhachev is coming off a great win over Drew Dober and wants to chart the rankings. He had Khabib Nurmagomedov in his corner and Dos Anjos wanted a favour from the Eagle.
The Brazilian claimed that he wasn’t allowed a rematch against Khabib back when Ali Abdelaziz was his manager.
The former UFC Champion lost to Khabib but wants the Eagle to fight him after the Makhachev clash:
“When I had the belt I asked Ali who was my manager at the time for a rematch with Khabib but Ali always protected his friend and kept him alway from me. I have no problem to fight @MAKHACHEVMMA but if his team believes in him so much I need @TeamKhabib word he will fight me next.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov to come out of retirement for Islam Makhachev?
Makhachev has been touted as the next Khabib and many believe he will be a future champion in the UFC.
However, he needs to fight a ranked star next and RDA fits the bill perfectly. While Makhachev’s coach, Javier Mendez, believes his student can take on anyone in the division, it will be interesting to see what happens next in this story.
Khabib retired from the UFC after defending his title against Justin Gaethje. The Russian hasn’t been stripped of the gold but the UFC has to move on.
Khabib and Makhachev have a long history of not only being training partners but friends too. However, it is unlikely that Khabib will come out of retirement for Islam to face Dos Anjos.
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