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Rafael dos Anjos has finally had his moment of sweet revenge. The former UFC lightweight champion didn’t miss a beat when he found out that Conor McGregor had to pull out of UFC 303 due to an injury, cancelling his much-anticipated fight against Michael Chandler on June 29.

The History Repeats Itself

Back in 2016, dos Anjos was forced to withdraw from a scheduled bout with McGregor at UFC 296 after suffering a broken foot. The incident led to McGregor mocking dos Anjos, questioning the severity of his injury.

"Did you see it? It’s a bruise," McGregor said at the time. "Ice, ibuprofen. If I jumped under an x-ray, the doctor would slap me and say what are you doing kid? Get out of here. Stop this! If you show up, you fight, you’re in, congratulations. You did it."

Dos Anjos Returns the Favor

Fast forward eight years, dos Anjos saw an opportunity to give McGregor a taste of his own medicine. Upon hearing that McGregor had to withdraw from UFC 303 due to an undisclosed injury, dos Anjos couldn’t resist taking a jab at the Irish superstar.

"It’s just a bruise," dos Anjos wrote. "Take some ibuprofen."

While the nature of McGregor’s injury remains a mystery, dos Anjos was dealing with a legitimate broken foot back in 2016. The irony is not lost on MMA fans who remember the verbal jabs exchanged between the two fighters.

Impact on UFC 303

McGregor’s withdrawal has left a significant void in the UFC 303 card, with no official rescheduling of the bout against Chandler yet. The UFC has remained tight-lipped about how long McGregor will be sidelined, leaving fans and analysts to speculate on the future.

As the MMA community awaits more details, one thing is clear: dos Anjos' long-awaited payback has added another layer to the storied rivalry between these two fighters. Whether or not McGregor will respond to dos Anjos' comments remains to be seen, but it's certain that this exchange will be remembered for years to come.

Editor: Emiliia Morozova