Islam Makhachev vs. Rafael Dos Anjos – Preview & Matchup Analysis

UPDATE: THIS FIGHT HAS BEEN CANCELED.

UFC 254: Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethje is scheduled to take place on Saturday, October 24, 2020, in Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In one of the matchups on the fight card, Islam Makhachev will take on Rafael Anjos in the Lightweight Bout. You can view the full UFC 254 card.

In this post, we will break down Islam Makhachev vs. Rafael Dos Anjos matchup. Let’s take look at the fighter’s ages, their height, records, reach, fight stats and more below ⤵

The 32-year-old, Islam Makhachev is coming in with a 18-1-0 record. Makhachev will be fighting for the first time since a win via unanimous decision against Davi Ramos at UFC 242: Khabib vs. Poirier in September.

Anjos, meanwhile, is coming off a unanimous decision loss against Michael Chiesa on September 7, 2019 at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Dos Santos and holds a 29-13-0 record.

Islam Makhachev has an orthodox fighting stance with a 70″ reach. The 39-year-old, Rafael Dos Anjos is an southpaw fighter with a 70″ reach. An orthodox fighter stands with their left side forward and jabs with their left hand, the southpaw fighter is the opposite, southpaw stands with their right side forward and jabs with their right hand. In most cases, orthodox fighters are right-handed, if you are left-handed, then you fight southpaw.

Islam Makhachev:
→ Makhachev’s striking accuracy is 56%.
→ Makhachev lands 2.10 significant strikes per minute.
→ Makhachev’s takedown accuracy is 68%.
→ Makhachev’s takedown average is 3.40 per 15 minutes.
→ Makhachev’s takedown defense is 93%.

Makhachev comes in with 56% striking accuracy, typically landing about 2.10 significant strikes every minute. On the other side, Anjos fires at 45% accuracy, landing about 3.47 significant strikes per minute. Islam Makhachev also has a 68% takedown accuracy and on average gets around 3.40 takedowns every 15 minutes, compared to Anjos’s 1.82 takedowns and 58% takedown accuracy.

Rafael Dos Anjos:
→ Anjos’s striking accuracy is 45%.
→ Anjos lands 3.47 significant strikes per minute.
→ Anjos’s takedown accuracy is 39%.
→ Anjos’s takedown average is 1.82 per 15 minutes.
→ Anjos’s takedown defense is 58%.

Rafael spent on average 13:54 minutes in the Octagon and Islam has an average fight time of 9:23 minutes.

This looks like an interesting matchup, at least on paper. UFC 254 is live in , who do you think will win, Islam or Rafael? Sound off in the comments.

You can view the scheduled UFC 254 fight card, upcoming UFC schedule 2020, and latest MMA news.