Following his huge win over Drew Dober at UFC 259 this past weekend (Sat., March 6, 2021) in Las Vegas, Nevada, Islam Makhachev increased his win streak to seven and moved up three spots to claim the No. 11 slot on the official UFC rankings.
He also called for a fight against Tony Ferguson to settle some business for his friend and training partner, Khabib Nurmagomedov. While that fight likely won’t happen next, another intriguing showdown that interests Makhachev is one against former 155-pound champion, Rafael dos Anjos.
It’s a fight “RDA” also wouldn’t mind taking part in, but he has some strings attached. According to the Brazilian bruiser, he will gladly face Makhachev as long as a rematch against Nurmagomedov comes with it should he prove victorious.
“Hey Rafael dos Anjos, if you don’t like all this hype around me, let’s finish our business in July,” Makhachev wrote on Twitter, which prompted dos Anjos to reply, “If your brother Khabib fight me after I beat you let’s do it.”
Makhachev and dos Anjos have been booked to throw down a couple times before, only to lose the fight due to COVID-19, and then the other as a result of an injury. As for Khabib, he is still technically retired, though the promotion isn’t in a hurry to officially vacate the title in hopes that Dana White can convince him to return.
Nurmagomedov already has a win over dos Anjos, taking him out at UFC on FOX 11 in April 2014. That said, if “The Eagle” does fly back for one more fight, I don’t think a do-over with “RDA” is the fight he’s looking for.
Just a hunch ...
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