Report: UFC's Islam Makhachev Withdraws from Rafael dos Anjos Fight with Injury

Islam Makhachev has withdrawn from his UFC Fight Night 183 encounter with Rafael dos Anjos, according to ESPN's Brett Okamoto.

Okamoto reported UFC is still hopeful of keeping dos Anjos in the main event and looking for a "short-notice replacement."

Makhachev and dos Anjos were originally set to face off at UFC 254 on Oct. 24. Just over two weeks out, dos Anjos announced he had tested positive for COVID-19 and would be unable to fight.

Dos Anjos wished Makhachev the best while floating a possible alternate:

Michael Chandler signed with UFC in September and was pegged to be the emergency fighter if Justin Gaethje or Khabib Nurmagomedov was unable to make the UFC 254 main event. The former Bellator lightweight world champion has yet to make his debut for the company.

These would be less than ideal circumstances for his first fight, though, and he has tried talking his way into a lightweight title opportunity following Nurmagomedov's retirement:

Even though Chandler has a proven track record from his time with Bellator, UFC might prefer for him to work his way up the lightweight division. Beating dos Anjos, who dropped to the lightweight classification for Makhachev, on short notice would be a great way to make a strong first impression.

Whatever UFC is aiming to do, it's running out of time to get a replacement bout on the card.