The MMA world almost got to see then-champion Rafael dos Anjos vs. Conor McGregor six years ago at UFC 196. A foot injury would force dos Anjos from the bout and his replacement, Nate Diaz, would become the first UFC fighter to defeat McGregor.
Needless to say, their careers took different paths after that.
Now that dos Anjos is coming off a spectacular win at UFC 272, he thinks it’s time to re-visit a fight with the former two-division champion.
“It looks like Islam (Makhachev) is going to fight Beneil Dariush,” dos Anjos said during the post-fight press conference. “He had a chance to fight me tonight and he didn’t. At 170 pounds, I took that fight. They (didn’t). I don’t know. It looks like Conor (McGregor) is coming back in the summer. That could be a good one. A title fight is already scheduled. We’ll see, man. A lot of things can happen.
At the time of their original booking, McGregor’s stock was rising. Now, it’s struggling to following multiple losses, trouble with the law and out of cage antics.
“I think the moment that we live in right now, that fight would make a lot of sense,” dos Anjos said. “I was on a 16-month layoff. Conor broke his leg and is coming back in the summer, I think. That would make sense. The division is kind of crazy right now and I think that fight would make a lot of sense. … That would be a big money fight, of course. We have a history, too. Like I said, I’m looking for names that make me want to go to the gym and train. It’s been so many years in this game. I don’t want to fight names that don’t interest me, that don’t push me to go to the gym. I’m 37 years old. (I’ve) fought pretty much everybody in two divisions.”
Rafael dos Anjos says rebooking of Conor McGregor fight ‘makes a lot of sense’