For the second time in two years, Justin Gaethje was the fresher fighter against Rafael Fiziev when it mattered most and the lightweight action star now finds himself on the verge of another big fight.
Gaethje (26-5) rallied over the final two rounds to outwork Fiziev (12-4) in their rematch, which served as the co-main event to a UFC 313 pay-per-view card from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Fiziev, 32, who took the fight on just 12 days’ notice after Dan Hooker injured his hand, came up on the wrong end of a unanimous decision as Gaethje was awarded 29-28 scores from all three judges.
The loss served as instant redemption for the 36-year-old Gaethje, a former interim champion at 155 pounds, who was knocked out cold in the final seconds of his last fight against Max Holloway in their ceremonial BMF title clash at UFC 300 in April 2024.
“This is living right here, boys!” Gaethje said. “I had to come back and I had to show everybody. I don’t give a shit how far down you are, it is on you to get back on the f—ing horse. That is who my parents taught me to be and I hope you are teaching your kids that same exact thing because we need it.”
Fiziev, who lost his third straight, was fighting for the first time in 18 months since he badly injured his knee after a hot start in a second-round TKO loss to Mateusz Gamrot. One fight earlier, at UFC 286 in 2023, Fiziev fought through a nasty eye poke in a majority decision loss to Gaethje.
Their rematch was just as action-packed over the final two rounds as their first meeting after Fiziev, who needed to regulate his cardio after accepting the bout without a full training camp, opened with a more tactical approach and even scored two takedowns of Gaethje (his first since taking down Marc Diakese in 2020).
Fiziev was more physical than Gaethje in the opening round when he bullied him with knees to the body, but he appeared to lose a bit of his confidence late in the round after injuring his toe on a kick to the body. Fiziev was also cut between the eyebrows in Round 1 and showed swelling around both eyes.
“[Fiziev] is a bad motherf—er, man. Honestly, [he’s] world class,” Gaethje said. “He really changed his tactics from the last fight and I really just had to start pushing forward. It was 12 days’ notice and for him to not get exhausted, he deserves so much credit. This sport is so crazy. I’m pretty sure my hand is broken but that is one tough son of a bitch.”
Gaethje pushed through over the second half by countering Fiziev with heavier shots, including a beautiful right uppercut that dropped Fiziev late in Round 2. Gaethje also did well to hold off a furious start to Round 3 by Fiziev by timing him with right hands before the two sluggers traded heavy shots over the final minute.
“Let’s train together and let’s never fight again unless it’s for a belt,” Gaethe said to Fiziev, after the fight.
Gaethe has won three of four fights since a 2022 submission loss to Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title. His second victory over Fiziev, however, puts him in good position as a darkhorse title candidate or as a potential foe in a trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier (which would serve as Poirier’s retirement bout).
“I’m No. 3 in the world and the most exciting guy that has ever stepped in there,” Gaethje said. “I don’t have a choice [what is next]. It’s up to the UFC and what they want.”
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