Rafael dos Anjos and Conor McGregor are both interested in completing a fight that should have taken place four years ago.
Following his decisive (though inexplicably split-decision) victory over Paul Felder at UFC on ESPN+ 41, Rafael dos Anjos had one very specific name in mind for his next opponent. The name was a familiar one. It is the same name that many fighters across divisions utter when longing for a red panty night, but in the case of Rafael dos Anjos, it is someone who he was supposed to have already fought: Conor McGregor. According to dos Anjos, the stars have aligned for the fight to occur in this new decade, so the promotion should act now.
“If Khabib is really retired, it will leave the division wide open… I think me and Conor is the fight to make,” dos Anjos said in the post-fight interview.
In the past, such callouts would be left lingering in the ethos, with nothing ever materializing from it, not even a response from McGregor. But nowadays, if you call out Conor McGregor, there is a better chance than ever that he will respond with interest. This was the case last night, as Conor McGregor wasted no time agreeing to fight Rafael dos Anjos in the near future.
“Dustin first, but I’m down for it all,” McGregor wrote before commenting on the past face-off between the two.
Yesterday’s victory over Paul Felder was Rafael dos Anjos’s first fight at lightweight since a 2016 loss to Tony Ferguson. Prior to that fight, Rafael dos Anjos lost his lightweight title to Eddie Alvarez, who would then go on to fight Conor McGregor in the Madison Square Garden blockbuster instead of dos Anjos. Dos Anjos pulled out of his fight against Conor McGregor due to injury, but he has been very consistent and reliable since then. With Conor McGregor opening the door to this fight happening, you can be sure that Rafael dos Anjos will be extra cautious to ensure that he makes it to the Octagon should he receive a second chance at a red panty night.
Do you think Conor McGregor vs. Rafael dos Anjos makes sense after McGregor/Poirier?
