Rafael dos Anjos vs. Islam Makhachev matchup rescheduled for UFC Vegas 15

A lightweight fight between Islam Makhachev and Rafael dos Anjos has been rescheduled for UFC Vegas 15 on November 14.

This news was first reported by MMADNA.nl.

Makhachev, the UFC’s No. 12-ranked lightweight contender and dos Anjos, the division’s former champion, were originally scheduled to collide on the main card of UFC 254 in Abu Dhabi this Saturday. Unfortunately, that plan was derailed when dos Anjos tested positive for COVID-19.

pic.twitter.com/tqEPHn1PRq

— Rafael dos Anjos (@RdosAnjosMMA) October 8, 2020

The good news is that the matchup will now go ahead several weeks later.

Rafael Dos Anjos held the UFC lightweight title in 2015, winning it with a lopsided decision defeat of Anthony Pettis, and defending it with a 66-second blowout of Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. After losing the title to Eddie Alvarez, and coming up short in a fight with Tony Ferguson thereafter, he hiked up to the welterweight.

Dos Anjos enjoyed a strong start at welterweight, picking up three-straight wins over Tarec Saffiedine, Neil Magny and Robbie Lawler, which propelled him into an interim title fight with Colby Covington. Regrettably, that’s where things went awry for him, as he sandwiched a submission defeat of Kevin Lee between losses to Covington, Kamaru Usman, Leon Edwards and Michael Chiesa. After his loss to Chiesa, he elected to return to the lightweight division, where Makhachev awaited.

Islam Makhachev is currently on a six-fight win-streak in the UFC’s Octagon after being knocked out by Adriano Martins in his second bout with the promotion. That stream is composed of wins over Chris Wade, Nik Lentz, Gleison Tibau, Kajan Johnson, Arman Tsarukyan and Davi Ramos. The Dagestani star is a close friend and training partner of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is set to defend his title against Justin Gaethje in the main event of UFC 254 this Saturday.

Who do you think wins this rescheduled dos Anjos vs. Makhachev fight?