Dana White: Beneil Dariush Next for Islam Makhachev After He Turned Down RDA Fight

For a brief period, it appeared that Islam Makhachev would be the one to step in against Rafael dos Anjos on short notice at UFC 272.

According to UFC president Dana White, a deal was almost done for the bout before Makhachev ultimately elected to turn it down.

“Pretty close – I thought we had it done,” White told Barstool Sports in a recent interview. “When I went to bed one of the nights, I thought it was done. Woke up the next morning and found out they turned it down. Islam [turned it down]. No clue [why].”

Instead, former featherweight contender Renato Moicano agreed to face dos Anjos in a five-round, co-main event bout on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“The best fight that we could possibly make would have been him and Islam. RDA and Islam,” White said. “Islam turns down the fight. What’s the [next] best fight you can make? [Renato] Moicano.”

Makhachev is coming off a first-round TKO of Bobby Green at UFC Fight Night 202 last weekend. While there was a growing sentiment that Makhachev would be next in line to face the winner of the lightweight championship clash between Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje at UFC 274, it now appears that the Dagestani standout will be rebooked against Beneil Dariush at a later date. Makhachev was supposed to face Dariush in the UFC Fight Night 202 main event before his opponent suffered a last-minute injury.

“He’s [Makhachev] obviously doing very well,”White said. “I love the Dariush fight. Since he turned down this fight, we’re going to remake the Dariush fight. We’ll get that fight going. Dying to see that fight. He gets through Dariush, very interesting.”