Renato 'Moicano' Agrees to Step in Against Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 272

Renato Carneiro has agreed to step in and fight Rafael dos Anjos on four days’ notice at UFC 272.

MMAFighting.com was first to report the pairing. The bout is expected to be contested at a 160-pound catchweight and will serve as a five-round, co-main event on Saturday’s card.

Carneiro is a replacement for Rafael Fiziev, who withdrew from the bout after testing positive for COVID-19. A number of fighters volunteered to face dos Anjos, most noticeably Islam Makhachev, who just earned a first-round TKO of Bobby Green at UFC Fight Night 202 this past Saturday. However, that matchup did not come to fruition.

“Moicano” is coming off a victory at UFC 271 on Feb. 12, when he submitted Alexander Hernandez with a rear-naked choke 1:33 into Round 2 of their clash at the Toyota Center in Houston. The 32-year-old Brazilian is 3-1 since moving from lightweight to 145 pounds, with his only setback coming against Fiziev at UFC 256.

A former light heavyweight champion, dos Anjos returned to the division following a 4-4 stint at 170 pounds. In his last appearance, the Nova Uniao product took a split-decision triumph over Paul Felder at UFC Fight Night 182 in November 2020. Dos Anjos was supposed to face Makhachev on three different occasions in recent months, but the bout fell through each time for various reasons.

UFC 272 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday and is headlined by a welterweight duel between Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal. The evening's main card airs on pay-per-view via ESPN+ beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.