The fight may have only come together at short notice, but last Saturday's co-main event at UFC 313 between Justin Gaethje (26-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) and Rafael Fiziev (12-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) proved to be an exceptional contest full of thrills and spills.
Much like when the pair first fought at UFC 286 two years ago, fans were treated to a close three-round battle which earned 'fight of the night' honors for both men, with Gaethje eventually earning a victory on the judge's scorecards.
Fiziev, who took the fight on just 10 days' notice, began brightly, surprisingly hitting a pair of takedowns on Gaethje in the opening round. the momentum seemed to shift in the second round however, when "The Highlight" landed a stunning uppercut on Fiziev, which the Kazakh fighter admits caused him some real problems.
“I think…you know what? This uppercut changed all this fight”, Fiziev told Ariel Helwani while appearing on The Ariel Helwani Show on Tuesday. “Yeah honestly, this uppercut is like, when I when I stand up from this uppercut on second round, you know I was like in Disneyland everything like this on my head.
"Like I don't know how I stayed (up), and when I'm going to sit before round three, I'm sitting and still it's Disneyland! And like round three, the beginning of the round, maybe first two minutes or one and a half minutes, it was also Disneyland.
"You know, all my life I'm thinking, 'Oh if somebody punched me so hard, and I'm going to get knocked down, I can stand up, can I stand up and continue in the fight or not?' I always all my life, I'm thinking about that and this is first time I'm like, oh, I get it. I stand up and I finish the fight, good, okay.
Fiziev Was Rocked By Gaethje
Fiziev stepped up on short notice to face Gaethje after Dan Hooker withdrew due to an injury. Having not stepped inside the Octagon since September 2023, facing a fighter of Gaethje's caliber with little time to prepare was certainly a huge challenge for the 32-year-old.
"My cardio was not too good because like, it's short notice", Fiziev admitted. "Short notice, and I'm not prepared, I'm not prepared for the fight. But mentally when I go to the fight, man, for the first time in my life I smile so much before fight when I go. I have like 250 fights in my career, like almost 300 maybe and I've never smiled, never and this time i go smile i'm enjoying i'm relaxing
Gaethje's victory means he has won three of his last four fights at 155 pounds, although the devastating loss he suffered at the hands of Max Holloway at UFC 300 last year is still fresh in the memories of many fans.
With lightweight champion Islam Makhachev's next opponent not yet announced, Gaethje's name will certainly be among those being considered for a title shot, something Fiziev would be on board with.
"I wish so much (Justin Gaethje) can fight for the belt", he told Helwani, "I wish it so much, man, and I think he deserves it more than everybody in this division, more than everybody for sure. I hope he gets it. I'm with him. If he fights against Islam, I'm with him...I'm on his side".
