I. Makhachev (left) refused to replace R. Fiziev against R. Dos Anjos in the UFC 272. Photo: SUPER FIGHTS montage
Last Monday (28), the card of UFC 272, scheduled for this Saturday (5), suffered a severe blow when it lost, due to Covid-19, Raphael Fiziev, which would face Rafael dos Anjos in the co-main event of the event.
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As soon as the news of the cut was released, several names offered to replace the Kazakh and face the Brazilian. Between them, Islam makhachev, which had no difficulties in overcoming Bobby Green last Saturday (26). Less than 24 hours, however, the one chosen to face Rafael dos Anjos No. UFC 272 was the compatriot Renato Moicano.
In an interview with the “Barstool Sports” channel, UFC president Dana White revealed that at one point he believed he had closed the duel between Rafael and Makhachev, but plans went down the drain after the Russian refused.
“We came very close, I thought we had closed it. When I went to bed one of those nights, I thought it was closed. I woke up the next morning to find they refused. Islam (Makhachev) refused. I have no idea why. The best possible fight we could have was RDA against Islam. Islam refused the fight. What's the best fight we could have? (Renato) Moicano” explained Dana.
If after the UFC Las Vegas 49, Islam makhachev revealed that he had received a call from Dana White confirming that his next fight would be for the lightweight belt, the UFC president's plans seem to have changed with the recent refusal. According to Dana, the Russian will need to face Beneil Dariush before competing for the division title.
“He’s obviously doing really well. I love the fight against Dariush. Since he turned down this fight, let's redo the fight against Dariush. Let's make this fight happen. I'm looking forward to it. If he gets past Dariush it will be very interesting”, he concluded.
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