Rafael dos Anjos backs Islam Makhachev to defeat Alexander Volkanovski
Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos weighs in on the upcoming UFC lightweight title clash.
For a while, it seemed as if dos Anjos and current lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, were destined to square off. The pair would trade barbs for some time over social media, but after several fight cancellations the fight never materialized and the two now find themselves on completely different career paths.
Makhachev is set to take on featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, who will be moving up to challenge Makhachev for his newly acquired title.
When asked his opinion, dos Anjos backed Makhachev, but was clearly not a fan of the matchup.
“Islam’s gonna win that fight,” dos Anjos said. “He could take somebody at lightweight, a real challenge, but this guy… I can’t understand that.” (H/T MMANews)
Makhachev’s fight against Volkanovski, which is scheduled to take place on February 11, will be the champion’s first defense since capturing it from Charles Oliveira back in October. Makhachev would dominate the short affair, dropping Oliveira before ultimately submitting the Brazilian in the second round.
This win was one of the 2022’s most impressive, with Oliveira previously bulldozing his way to lightweight supremacy.
Makhachev is currently sitting at around at -350 favorite against the Australian, but expect Volkanovski to put in a stellar performance.
Although Makachev’s now 11-fight win streak, Volkanovski tops him with an astounding 22-fight win streak.
Since his breakout win over Chad Mendes back in 2018, Volkanovski has been taking out the best of the best at 145lbs, including three victories over former champion, Max Holloway.
While Volkanovski will give up a size advantage, he will definitely not give up a skill advantage.
