Rafael dos
Anjos recently revealed to Sherdog.com that he underwent an
arthroscopic procedure on his knee approximately two weeks ago that
may put his UFC 267 bout against Islam
Makhachev in jeopardy.
The Nova Uniao-trained fighter says that he is doing everything he
can to keep the bout intact. UFC 267 takes place on Oct. 30 in Abu
Dhabi.
“I’m already walking without crutches, in 10 days I need to be able
to sparring,” dos Anjos said. “I’m a fighter; I always want to
fight. We already told the UFC what happened. By the way, the UFC
was great at paying for all my surgery expenses. But of course I
can’t decide alone. I have to hear from my trainer, my doctor and
physiotherapist. We must take the final decision in one week.”
If the bout is canceled, it would be the third time that dos Anjos
vs. Makhachev has fallen through. A matchup at UFC 254 was scrapped
after dos Anjos contracted COVID-19, while a rebooking in at UFC
Fight Night 182 November 2020 was nixed due to a Makhachev staph
infection. This time, the Brazilian’s meniscus injury is
threatening to cancel the bout.
“It´s been a pretty atypical year for me. I had two surgeries in
six months,” dos Anjos said. “But for sure the first one (an
abdominal hernia) was much worse.”
Dos Anjos has faced some of the most difficult competition in the
sport over the course of his 43-bout, 16-year career. With that in
mind, “RDA” doesn’t consider Makhachev to be among the Top 3 most
difficult opponents he has faced.
“For sure he is a pretty tough kid, but I never had a
easy path,” dos Anjos said. “My history in that sport is
always facing the toughest opponents of my division in their
prime. I faced Ferguson coming from eight straight wins, Kamaru
Usman and Khabib [Nurmagomedov] undefeated, Anthony
Pettis coming from five straight wins, [Robbie] Lawler also in
great shape. I´m a fighter, I love the most difficult tests,
that´s why I really want to keep that fight.”
Dos Anjos beleives that Makhachev having two former UFC champions,
Nurmagomedov and Daniel
Cormier, in his camp, helps contribute to the excitement
surrounding the Dagestani lightweight contender.
“I see Beneil
Dariush beating the same oponents as Islam in a much more
impressive fashion, but when you have Khabib in your corner and
Cormier commentating on television that you are No. 1 in the
division, it is natural to have hype,” dos Anjos said.
“The champion must be respected. Charles
Oliveira got nine straight wins, and surpassed the submission
records set by Royce Gracie
and Demian Maia.
Even taking the champion out of the equation, I see the toughest
oponents in that division are [Justin] Gaethje, Beneil and Islam,
in that order.”
Dos Anjos gives Nurmagomedov a decided edge when comparing him to
his training partner, Makhachev.
“I see Islam as being more technical, but he doesn’t like to expose
himself to get tired, while Khabib is much more dangerous because
he believes in his gas tank and never stops attacking,” dos Anjos
said. “That´s why Makhachev didn’t want a five-round fight as
I requested. Actually, I have friends who already trained with him
and they told me, he is afraid to get tired, so he saves his gas
tank.”