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This is the story of the unlucky turn for UFC lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos (25-7 MMA) who was set for a career high and possible once in a lifetime payday against UFC megastar Conor McGregor only four months ago.
Rafael Dos Anjos had been on a tear through the lightweight division, racking up impressive victories including knocking out former lightweight champion Benson Henderson, a three-round drubbing of Nate Diaz, a five-round beating of then lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, and a one-minute knockout of Donald Cerrone in his first title defence.
With only two weeks remaining until the mega fight at UFC 196 back in February, which was being tipped to sell pay per views well above one million buys – something which has only happened around a dozen times in UFC history – Dos Anjos was struck down with a broken foot and forced off the card.
Conor McGregor bashed Dos Anjos through the media for pulling out of the fight and insisted he had a mere bruised toe. UFC president Dana White appeared frustrated at his champion for pulling out of the fight on short notice stating that McGregor was fighting “no matter what”. McGregor remained on the card and faced Nate Diaz, the very man Dos Anjos dispatched of only months prior.
With no shortage of potential dance partners McGregor insisted on facing Diaz at welterweight and learned that weight divisions are there for a reason. The two fighters engaged in a memorable contest and earned the UFC 196 fight of the night bonus.
McGregor gave the bigger Diaz all he had for a round and a half, and was seemingly unable to hurt his opponent the way he had done to previous opponents at 145 pounds and wound up losing via rear naked choke to the Jui Jitsu black belt. The fight sold a reported 1.5 million pay per views, earning both men multi-million dollar paydays.
Fast forward five months and Dos Anjos now finds himself with no multimillion dollar paydays, no huge media tours, no pay per view main event and defending his world title against Eddie Alvarez (27-1 MMA) on the UFC’s subscription-based program UFC Fight Pass.
The fight will take place on a week night just days before the UFC’s mega-card UFC 200, a mighty long way from a pay per view headliner opposite the sport’s biggest draw on the sport’s biggest stage.
While his opponent Alvarez is ranked No.2 in the UFC lightweight rankings he is generally unknown to the casual fight fan and certainly won’t garner the attention like a McGregor fight would.
Despite Alvarez’s prior UFC success the former Bellator lightweight champion has had less than stellar results so far inside the octagon.
Alvarez lost his UFC debut to Donald Cerrone back at UFC 178 and has scraped through for two victories in back-to-back split decisions over top lightweights Gilbert Melendez and Anthony Pettis.
Dos Anjos has only defended his belt once, which came on free tv earning a reported $300,000 (by the Florida State Boxing Commission) in a first round stoppage win over Donald Cerrone back at UFC On Fox 17.
While $300,000 is a nice earner it’s a far cry from the multi-millions the champ would have earned in the McGregor fight, and is somewhere around a 90 per cent pay cut of what the champion stood to make at UFC 196.
One can’t help but feel Dos Anjos is almost being punished by the MMA gods for his refusal to fight with a broken foot. And by MMA gods I also mean UFC president Dana White. Had McGregor won his bout against Diaz, Dos Anjos would of more than likely been booked for the historic UFC 200 main event slot against the Irishman.
McGregor has since been booked in a rematch against Diaz for the main event at UFC 202 in August, which will undoubtedly again do huge pay per view numbers and earn both men millions of dollars, while Dos Anjos will watch on wondering what could have been.
All because of a foot injury – but that’s the world of MMA for you.
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