Rafael dos Anjos never got his opportunity to fight Conor McGregor, but would love to welcome him back.
The two were scheduled to fight more than three years ago at UFC 196 for the lightweight title. But then-champ dos Anjos (29-12 MMA, 18-10 UFC) was forced to pull out just a couple of weeks before the fight due to a broken foot.
McGregor (21-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC), who was the featherweight champ at the time, was attempting to move up in weight to hold two titles simultaneously, but that was put on hold when dos Anjos suffered an injury. Nate Diaz stepped in and flipped the MMA world upside down by handing McGregor his first UFC loss.
But dos Anjos lost his title to Eddie Alvarez, and after McGregor handled his business with Diaz in a rematch, he met Alvarez for the 155-pound title and put on a masterclass to win a second UFC belt. So the fight between dos Anjos and McGregor never came to fruition, and dos Anjos thinks it’s time to make that fight happen.
He took to Instagram to call out McGregor, who hasn’t competed since his fourth-round submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 more than a year ago. McGregor is rumored to face Donald Cerrone on Jan. 18, but dos Anjos is asking the UFC to not give McGregor a “tune-up fight,” and instead give him a “real contender” like himself.
“Don’t give this guy a tune up fight, give him real contender at 170 , 165 or 155. I’m in all the way @danawhite @seanshelby”
Both dos Anjos and McGregor have competed at welterweight before. Dos Anjos recently moved up to the division, and McGregor fought Diaz twice at 170-pounds.
But dos Anjos seems happy to move back down to 155 to face McGregor since he thinks they have unfinished business.
Rafael dos Anjos wants to welcome back Conor McGregor: 'Give him a real contender'
