The UFC has scrambled and found a replacement opponent for Rafael Dos Anjos (30-13). Yesterday, we all learned that Rafael Fiziev had tested positive for Covid and was out of the UFC 272 co-main event against RDA.
With that, the promotion scrambled to find a new opponent for Dos Anjos. RDA desperately wanted to stay on the card and the UFC didn’t want to lose him off the card. The search went down many paths and one that got fans excited was Islam Makhachev (22-1).
Makhachev put out there on Twitter that he would face RDA at 170 pounds. Immediately, Dos Anjos agreed to the fight online and sources have said that he was more than willing to fight Islam Makhachev at UFC 272.
However, I cautioned in our article yesterday that I didn’t see Makhachev or his team accepting this fight. They believe they are in line for a title shot and I just couldn’t see them taking the fight. Turns out, the Makhachev team turned down the fight.
UFC 272’s New Co-Main
When it became apparent that Makhachev wasn’t a viable option for UFC 272, the promotion started zeroing in on Renato Moicano (16-4). Moicano is coming off of a big win against Alexander Hernandez at UFC 271.
It was Moicano’s second straight finish in the lightweight division. Moicano and his team immediately agreed to the fight and then the teams started working out the details. Moicano’s manager was the first to announce that the deal was done.
The fight will still serve as the co-main event of UFC 272 and it will remain five rounds. Moicano is currently in Brazil, but he will immediately fly back to the United States to take this fight on short-notice. Per Moicano’s manager, he’s currently weighing 180 pounds.
Moicano will meet RDA at a catch weight of 160 pounds. The deal has been agreed to and all that’s left is putting signatures on paper and RDA will officially have his new opponent for UFC 272.