Rafael dos Anjos tries to coax Khabib Nurmagomedov out of retirement by accepting a fight with Islam Makhachev
Since lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov retired back in 2020, many people have been trying to get him to return to fighting. Georges St-Pierre, Conor McGregor, and even Dana White have been calling for Nurmagomedov to come back. One man who thinks he has the way to get him back is Rafael dos Anjos. Dos Anjos has come out on social media and called for a fight with Nurmagomedov’s pupil and rising star in the lightweight division, Islam Makhachev.
I just heard back from the UFC that Islam accepted to fight me Oct 30 5 rounds in Abu Dhabi and Khabib agreed to come out of retirement to avenge his brother’s loss after that.
— Rafael dos Anjos (@RdosAnjosMMA) July 22, 2021
“I just heard back from the UFC that Islam accepted to fight me Oct 30 5 rounds in Abu Dhabi and Khabib agreed to come out of retirement to avenge his brother’s loss after that,” dos Anjos wrote.
This may be a good plan by Rafael dos Anjos who is still very relevant in the division. He is a former champion and currently sitting in the number seven spot on the rankings. Dos Anjos is 2-2 in his last four fights and not exactly being called out by any of the top fighters. Makhachev on the other hand is at the forefront of the media and division after his winning performance last week. He has called out the likes of Tony Ferguson and Michael Chandler and has jumped into the top five. If dos Anjos thinks beating Makhachev could make Nurmagomedov return that would be an excellent fight for him.
Nurmagomedov has been adamant about sticking to his plan. His manager Ali Abdelaziz has already rebutted the accusation that Nurmagomedov would fight dos Anjos. According to Brett Okamoto from ESPN, the thought of a teacher avenging his student is completely false. Even if that fight doesn’t happen the potential matchup with Makhachev is a wonderful fight for dos Anjos. The two were scheduled before but it was Makhachev who pulled out.
Although Makhachev has been looking for top-five opponents, he could be willing to take this bout and the winner would find themselves in a great position to face a title contender next.
