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After Islam Makhachev had to pull out from his fight against Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Vegas 14 due to staph infection, the latter called out Michael Chandler to step in on five days' notice.
Michael Chandler declined. He revealed in a response to a fan enquiry on his Instagram account that he had other plans that he needed to take care at the moment.
Rafael dos Anjos took this opportunity to fire shots at his fellow lightweight on Twitter. Michael Chandler responded with an explanation.
Michael Chandler responds to Twitter jab from Rafael dos Anjos
Rafael dos Anjos took to Twitter after Michael Chandler turned down the fight and took a dig at the former Bellator champion. Dos Anjos said "shame on you" to Chandler, bringing up his own career where he faced UFC's whos-who to become the champion in the past.
Michael Chandler fired back, explaining the rationale behind his decision for not taking the fight. He also made it clear that he was never officially offered the fight.
Paul Felder steps in to fight Rafael dos Anjos
Michael Chandler might not be ready to take on Rafael dos Anjos on five days' notice, but Paul Felder is.
Felder has been quite vocal about his willingness to retire from the Octagon ever since his split decision loss to Dan Hooker in February. He has been ever present in commentary gigs for UFC in the meantime and was scheduled to be present as an announcer at UFC Vegas 14.
But now he is stepping inside the Octagon to headline the event against Rafael dos Anjos. It has been confirmed by UFC and dos Anjos has praised Paul Felder for saving the show.
It was indeed a bold move for Paul Felder, given how he has not been preparing for a fight in the past few months. Dos Anjos fought last in January and dropped a decision to Michael Chiesa. But that bout was in welterweight.
Dos Anjos will be returning to lightweight, the weight class where he started out in, after 4 long years. His last outing as a lightweight was in November, 2016, where he lost to Tony Ferguson via decision. His last win as a lightweight was in December 2015 over Donald Cerrone.
