Rafael Fiziev out of UFC 272 co-main event against Rafael dos Anjos, replacement opponent sought-after

Rafael Fiziev has been forced to withdraw from his UFC 272 co-main event fight against Rafael dos Anjos.

On Monday, dos Anjos appeared on The MMA Hour and hinted he heard Fiziev may be out of the fight. He did not know the exact reason but shortly thereafter, Fiziev’s manager texted Ariel Helwani who confirmed the 11th-ranked lightweight was out of the bout due to testing positive for COVID-19. Rafael Fiziev later confirmed the news on social media.

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

“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 Fiziev wrote on social media.

The hope for dos Anjos is to remain on the card and face a short-notice replacement. Of course, he was supposed to headline UFC Vegas 48 on February 19 against Fiziev but the 28-year-old’s visa was not approved in time so the scrap was delayed. Whether or not a replacement opponent will be found on five days’ notice is to be seen.

Rafael dos Anjos (30-13) has not fought since November of 2020 when he beat Paul Felder by decision. Since then, he has been booked to fight Islam Makhachev twice and Fiziev twice but due to different reasons, the fight never happened. His win over Felder was his return to lightweight and snapped a two-fight losing skid.

With Rafael Fiziev being out of his fight against dos Anjos, UFC 272 is as follows:

• Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal
• Rafael dos Anjos vs. TBD
• Edson Barboza vs. Bryce Mitchell
• Kevin Holland vs. Alex Oliveira
• Serghei Spivac vs. Greg Hardy
• Jamie Mullarkey vs. Jalin Turner
• Marina Rodriguez vs. Yan Xiaonan
• Nicolae Negumereanu vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
• Mariya Agapova vs. Maryna Moroz
• Brian Kelleher vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
• Tim Elliott vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
• Ludovit Klein vs. Devonte Smith
• Dustin Jacoby vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk

Who would you like to see Rafael dos Anjos fight at UFC 272 with Rafael Fiziev forced to withdraw?