A long-awaited lightweight bout between Islam Makhachev and Rafael dos Anjos has run into another setback. Dos Anjos has been pulled from his October 30th fight against Makhachev due to injury, per a report from Mike Bohn and John Morgan of MMA Junkie.
Dos Anjos and Makhachev were set to meet at UFC 267, which is scheduled to take place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
UFC has been attempting a bout between Makhachev and dos Anjos for over a year. The lightweights were first paired in October 2020, with that booking falling through due to COVID-19. A month later, injury to Makhachev took him out of another attempted matchup between the two.
Makhachev has expressed skepticism of dos Anjos’ injury, denying it in a Twitter post.
“I don’t believe that you’re injured,” said Makhachev in a post that had dos Anjos tagged.
Dos Anjos last fought in November 2020, where he defeated Paul Felder via split decision. The victory snapped a two-fight skid for the veteran.
Makhachev won his first UFC main event bout earlier this year, submitting Thiago Moises in the fourth round. The win moved his streak of victories to eight-in-a-row.
UFC 267 suffered another big loss just yesterday, as it was reported that UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling withdrew from his bout against Petr Yan.
The event is currently scheduled to be headlined by UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jan Blachowicz and veteran Glover Teixeira.
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