Dana White reveals Islam Makhachev turned down fight with Rafael dos Anjos: “I thought we had it done”

Dana White has revealed that Islam Makhachev turned down a fight with Rafael dos Anjos for this weekend.

Last week, the MMA world went crazy after Rafael Fiziev fell out of his UFC 272 bout with the former lightweight champion. Many fighters quickly stepped up to take the short-notice co-main event fight. Many stepped up, but one drew attention more than the rest, being Islam Makhachev.

The Russian took to Twitter to call out Rafael dos Anjos for the bout, to which ‘RDA’ agreed. Both men agreed to fight at welterweight, but instead, the UFC slotted in Renato Moicano into the fight with dos Anjos. The fight prompted lots of confusion, given the Brazilian’s unranked status, and that Makhachev already agreed to the fight.

Now, Dana White has revealed why Islam Makhachev is not fighting this weekend. He spoke about the situation on My Mom’s Basement with Robbie Fox, where he noted the Russian turned the bout down. He also revealed that due to the whole fiasco, he’s going to make Makhachev vs. Beneil Dariush instead.

Image Credit: UFC

“I thought we had it done. When I went to bed, I thought it was done. I woke up the next morning, I found out they [Islam Makhachev] turned it down. The best fight we could’ve possibly made was RDA vs. Islam. Since Islam turned it down, who’s the next best guy? [Renato] Moicano.”

White continued, “I love the Dariush fight. Since he turned this fight down, we’re gonna remake the Beneil Dariush fight. We’ll get that fight going, I’m dying to see that one. He gets through Dariush, it gets very interesting.”

What do you make of Islam Makhachev turning down the fight against Rafael Dos Anjos? Who would you pick in a hypothetical fight between the two lightweight contenders? Sound off in the comments below!