Rafael dos Anjos undergoes knee surgery, fight against Islam Makhachev at UFC 267 in jeopardy

Former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos just recently underwent surgery on his knee and it may not be possible for him to recover in time to face Islam Makhachev at UFC 267.

Over the weekend, Makhachev released on a message on Twitter aimed at dos Anjos after he got word of the injury, which obviously put their fight on Oct. 30 in jeopardy.

“I don’t believe that you’re injured… again,” Makhachev wrote in a message aimed at dos Anjos.

Sources close to dos Anjos confirmed that he underwent surgery on his knee just recently, and with just over a month to go until his fight, he’s still trying to consistently bend his leg while recovering from the procedure.

That said, dos Anjos still isn’t ready to concede his ability to compete at UFC 267 after telling Sherdog that he wanted to take another week before making the final decision on whether or not he could fight.

“Do you really think I would fake a surgery?” dos Anjos wrote in response to Makhachev. “Coming out of another terrible injury. Unlike you I have a family that depends on me and I don’t have another man paying my bills.”

While it seems highly unlikely that dos Anjos will be able to compete on Oct. 30, there’s no word yet if the UFC has started the search for a new opponent to face Makhachev on the card.

The Dagestani lightweight is currently riding an eight-fight win streak including submission wins over Drew Dober and Thiago Moises in his most recent appearances.

It appears Makhachev is still committed to fighting on Oct. 30, although it remains to be seen if he’ll be facing dos Anjos or a replacement opponent.