I offered to help UFC, but they denied my only ask - Islam Makhachev sets record straight, rubbishes rumor that he asked for $1 million for RDA fight

Islam Makhachev recently broke his silence after Dana White claimed that the Russian refused to step in against Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 272.

Makhachev revealed that he did offer to replace Rafael Fiziev in the co-main event of last Saturday's pay-per-view. However, the Dagestani claimed to have backed out after the UFC denied a "very small" request he had. During an interview with Brett Okamoto, he explained:

"You know, Brett? Dana said I turned down this fight but Monday morning when I woke up I just saw some news that [Rafael] Fiziev has COVID, the fight [is at a] standstill. I've been in California on vacation and I woke up and called my manager. [I said], 'Hey Ali, I saw some news, please call the UFC and say I'm ready to take this fight.' And I asked about some condition, very small condition. Nothing big, not [impossible] to do... But UFC [did] not do it that's why it did not happen."

White's version of the story was that Makhachev just flat-out turned down the fight against RDA. However, the lightweight contender contested that he was the one who asked for the fight but his conditions were not met. He added:

"I just wanna help UFC for the fans, for everybody because this is like pay-per-view show. It's big show. I just asked for very small condition but UFC say no and that's it."

Makhachev did not specify exactly what his demands were. However, he made it clear that he didn't ask for a million dollars like Rafael dos Anjos previously claimed.

Check out Islam Makhachev's interview with ESPN MMA below:

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Islam Makhachev says fighting RDA wasn't worth the trouble anyway

Islam Makhachev may have missed out on the chance to fight longtime rival Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 272. Nevertheless, he was cageside during the event as he watched dos Anjos dominate Renato Moicano in the co-main event.

Makhachev is now of the opinion that dos Anjos is not at his level. He added that beating the former UFC lightweight champ would not have been worth his while. In the same interview, he said:

"You know, I sat on the first row and watched this fight, dos Anjos not my level fighter. If I beat him people still talking like, 'This is old man. He's not from top 5.'"

Makhachev is currently riding a ten-fight winning streak. He will be eyeing the winner of the upcoming championship bout between Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje, which will be underway at UFC 274 in May.