With Dan Hooker off the UFC 313 card next month due to injury, Justin Gaethje was in need of a new opponent – and it will be a familiar face.
Announced by the promotion on Wednesday, Gaethje (25-5) will face Rafael Fiziev (12-3) in what is expected to now be a three-round co-main event in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 8, 2025.
Gaethje vs. Hooker was initially expected to be a five-round affair; with Fiziev stepping up on short notice, the bout was shifted back to three rounds.
The lightweight duo have history: Justin Gaethje defeated Fiziev in the pair’s first meeting in March of 2023, earning a majority decision. It will be just shy of two years to the day between that fight and the rematch, which finds Gaethje, a former interim lightweight and BMF champ, looking to bounce back from his UFC 300 loss to Max Holloway.
Gaethje has been one of the most electrifying, not to mention most violent, men in mixed martial arts since his WSOF days. Fiziev is no slouch himself, with eight knockouts amongst his 12 victories in MMA. With a background in Muay Thai and training out of Thailand, Fiziev is a deadly striker – but sat out all of 2024, and has not competed since sustaining a knee injury in his fight against Mateusz Gamrot in September 2023.
UFC 313 is headlined by light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira taking on Magomed Ankalaev, who will be getting a second crack at gold in the fight. The event takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with the following match-ups reported:
- Alex Pereira (c) vs. Magomed Ankalaev – for the UFC light heavyweight championship
- Justin Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev
- Jalin Turner vs. Ignacio Bahamondes
- Amanda Lemos vs. Iasmin Lucindo
- King Green vs. Maurício Ruffy
- Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev
- Joshua Van vs. Rei Tsuruya
- Brunno Ferreira vs. Armen Petrosyan
- Alex Morono vs. Carlos Leal
- Mairon Santos vs. Francis Marshall
- Djorden Ribeiro dos Santos vs. Osman Diaz
