Dos Anjos glad Makhachev won't get title shot: 'Price he pays' for ducking me

Rafael dos Anjos is happy that Islam Makhachev will have to fight again before a UFC lightweight title shot after he apparently turned down a short-notice fight against the Brazilian.

"It feels great, man. It feels really good," Dos Anjos said Monday on "The MMA Hour."

When Dos Anjos was left without an opponent for this past weekend's UFC 272 event, Makhachev was among several fighters who offered to step in, asking Dos Anjos to compete up a weight class at 170 pounds. Dos Anjos agreed, but UFC president Dana White later revealed Makhachev turned down the matchup when it was offered to him.

White said because Makhachev - who's won 10 fights in a row, including a first-round TKO of Bobby Green in the Feb. 26 main event - turned down the Dos Anjos fight, the promotion now plans to reschedule him against Beneil Dariush instead of giving him a title shot against Charles Oliveira or Justin Gaethje. Dariush withdrew from the original Feb. 26 headliner due to a leg injury.

"That's the price (Makhachev) pays for playing politics, playing these little games," said Dos Anjos, who used to train with Dariush. "He had his title shot secured, now he's going to fight another one."

Renato Moicano, who had fought three weeks earlier, agreed to fight Dos Anjos on four days' notice. Dos Anjos won by unanimous decision in the UFC 272 co-main event.

Ultimately, Dos Anjos doesn't believe Makhachev intended to take the fight.

"I called his bluff," Dos Anjos said. "I think that's what it was. His team probably thought that I wouldn't take this fight at 170. But you know what? I was training, I didn't want to waste a whole fight camp, I hadn't fought for 16 months. I just wanted to go there and fight someone."

Oliveira will defend his lightweight title against Gaethje at UFC 274 on May 7.