The highly anticipated lightweight matchup between Rafael Fiziev and Rafael dos Anjos that had to take place at UFC 272 this upcoming weekend won’t be happening.
Fiziev, 28, has tested positive for COVID-19 and won’t be able to compete. He confirmed the news on his Twitter account.
I’m devastated to announce that I’m out of the fight. I had a great camp and was ready to put on the show, I flew all the way to Vegas from Thailand just to get sick with covid, for 3 days I’m in hotel bed with fever, bones pain and cough.
— Rafael “Ataman” Fiziev (@RafaelFiziev) February 28, 2022
UFC is trying to find a replacement for Fiziev and already there’s a frontrunner. Two days after his dominant performance against Bobby Gree, Islam Makhachev volunteers to step in and fight RDA.
Both Makhachev and dos Anjos have been scheduled to fight three times in the past – twice in 2020 and once in 2021. Unfortunately, the fight never materialized due to COVID-19 and injuries on the Brazilian side.
“170??? Let’s do it,” Makhachev wrote on Twitter. “We have unfinished business RDA.”
Renato Moicano is another fighter that could replace Fiziev.
