UFC Vegas 79 lightweight headliner Rafael Fiziev, ranked #6 in the weight class, saw his night come to a tragic and premature end on Saturday.
Throwing a kick at opponent Mateusz Gamrot, Fiziev (12-2) almost immediately clutched the leg he had posted on and dropped to the ground in pain. The bout ended in the second round, with Gamrot earning an injury TKO victory.
After follow-up with physicians, Fiziev has now confirmed an ACL injury. “My ACL Said Salam Alykom [peace to you] and ran off,” the 30-year old wrote on social media on Monday.
Thanking his fans for their support in an accompanying video, Fiziev expressed his frustration at the injury coming early in his fight with Gamrot.
“I will be back,” Fiziev said. “I’m just sad because I had a very great camp, and I was ready to show my best skills. And I’m sad because it happened only in the second round. I get ready for a loss like that, but I’m more than happy, 100 times more happy, if it happened in the last round. Because I’m sure, I believe I can show in this fight, very nice skills. But we have plans, but God has different plans. His plan is always the best.”
Fiziev did not provide a timetable for his recovery, but he’ll likely be out the better part of a year. Though carrying an asterisk due to the nature of the loss, the setback marks Fiziev’s second straight defeat, after being beaten by Justin Gaethje in a Fight of the Night effort at UFC 286 back in March.
