UFC News: Rafael Dos Anjos Details Why He Didn’t Wait on Conor McGregor Fight

Dos Anjos has no regrets about not fighting McGregor later on in 2016.

Christopher De Santiago | Jul 8, 2024

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Rafael Dos Anjos believes he did "the right thing" by not holding out for Conor McGregor in 2016.

UFC News: Michael Chandler Catches Stray from Ex-Champ Amid Conor McGregor Wait

History With Conor McGregor

The UFC Lightweight Champion at the time, Dos Anjos was scheduled to defend his title against featherweight champ McGregor at UFC 196, who was dead-set on becoming the promotion's first simultaneous two-division champion. McGregor would go on to do just that, but not against Dos Anjos, as the Brazilian pulled out of the fight due to a broken foot.

The champ @RdosAnjosMMA vows to show McGregor the "bad side" of fighting 👉https://t.co/2BqSZAmluR #UFC197 pic.twitter.com/mJOE45GsjR
— UFC (@ufc) January 26, 2016

Nate Diaz stepped up for Dos Anjos on short notice, tapping out McGregor for a lucrative rematch in the months that followed at UFC 202, in which McGregor won. At UFC 205, "The Notorious" captured the lightweight title from Eddie Alvarez - the fighter who dethroned RDA in July 2016.

No Regrets For RDA

Dos Anjos ultimately lost out on the pay-per-view payday by not waiting on McGregor like UFC Lightweight Michael Chandler has been doing for the last two years, with the former champion explaining why he decided to take up a title defense with Alvarez in the first place.

"Thinking back, I could take the chance of like, 'Okay, now since I was a champion, he fought Diaz, he lost to Diaz, now I wanna fight Conor...' I could do that, but I just wanna move the things [for the lightweight division]," Dos Anjos told Submission Radio.

"Back in the day, I held a belt. So, I shouldn't [say], 'Conor, I'm gonna stop, I'm gonna wait here. I'm not gonna fight anybody else. I'm gonna wait for Conor...' But, instead of doing that, I think I did the right thing, move forward," Dos Anjos continued. "I end up fighting Eddie Alvarez. I don't regret about anything I've done. I think that the division's there and I can't lock up the division. I think I did the right thing. Life went on."

Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

A lot has transpired since Dos Anjos' booking against McGregor, with both fighters alternating between the lightweight and welterweight divisions. Since then, Dos Anjos has gone 7-9, and McGregor has gone 3-4 with much less activity.

Dos Anjos in 2024: 'That Fight Could Happen One Day...'

While McGregor will likely face Chandler in his pushed-back return, Dos Anjos, 39, thinks a fight with the Irishman can still take place sometime down the line.

"We have a history, I think that fight could happen one day. I would love to get a chance to fight Conor," Dos Anjos added. "Not only because of money... but that was the fight that [was supposed to happen]... Now we fighting on the same division back at 170. So, it could happen."

Conor McGregor after his win at UFC 246.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Injuries

In a blast to the past, Rafael Dos Anjos recently took aim at Conor McGregor for pulling out of his UFC 303 fight vs. Michael Chandler, stemming from a broken pinky toe. As you might remember, McGregor lashed out at RDA in 2016 for withdrawing from a broken foot - to which McGregor undermined the injury as merely a bruise.

"That’s the difference between me and you Conor, you finally got exposed. You got a pinky toe injury while I got a broken foot," Dos Anjos clapped back all these years later on 'X'.

That’s the difference between me and you Conor, you finally got exposed. You got a pinky toe injury while I got a broken foot. Let me know what you guys think on the comments below. https://t.co/q79Do4eLnL pic.twitter.com/iiH1RRMKIS
— Rafael dos Anjos (@RdosAnjosMMA) June 21, 2024

History With Conor McGregor

No Regrets For RDA

Dos Anjos in 2024: 'That Fight Could Happen One Day...'

Injuries

Read More MMA & WWE News