Dan Hooker was unfortunately forced out of his fight with Justin Gaethje on March 8th at UFC 313. It was set to be a 5-round co-main event and one of the most highly anticipated fights on the upcoming UFC schedule. With the card not having an obvious fight that can serve as the new co-main event, all signs point towards the promotion finding a replacement instead of just re-booking it at a later date. In that case, who should Justin Gaethje in less than two weeks? Here are who I believe to be the five best possible options out there.
The Spaniard has quietly been one of the most exciting lightweights in the UFC ever since he came in. His only losses came against Damir Ismagulov in his promotional debut and to current number 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan. He finds himself on a three-fight win streak and coming off a spectacular finish of Drakkar Klose in December. He’s exactly the type of fighter the fans would love to see face the best of the division.
However, there are reasons why he sits at number 5 on this list and not higher. He’s been rumoured to be fighting Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 315 in May; so there may be reasons why he’s looking at a return in spring, making March 8th a non-option for him. He’s also currently unranked, which might make it hard for the UFC to convince Gaethje to take that fight. Finally, he would have to weigh-in in 9 days, and he has had trouble making 155 pounds in the past, even with the one-pound allowance.
- Jean Silva
“Didn’t Jean Silva just a few days ago?” He sure did, but that hasn’t stopped him in the past.
Aside from training at Fighting Nerds and having finished every UFC fight he’s been in, the major reason Silva made a name for himself last year was because of what he did in the summer. He knocked out Charles Jourdain at featherweight on June 29th, then proceeded to get a doctor’s stoppage win over Drew Dober at lightweight on July 13th. That is a 14-day turnaround, precisely what would be asked of him again, here. The short notice game is easier to play for unranked fighters because the stakes are different, meaning Silva is still in the position where he could accept this co-main event opportunity against a fan-favourite and still see his stock go up in the event of a loss.
There’s a lot to gain here for Silva, it would just be a matter of whether his body will allow him another quick turnaround. No one would blame him for turning this down. His smaller size and bigger name might make it easier for the UFC to convince Gaethje to accept the Silva fight than the Alvarez one.
- Mateusz Gamrot
Not the sexiest of picks, but one that does make more meritocratic sense than the first two. Gamrot, sitting at #8, fighting #3 Gaethje despite coming off a loss would be strange. However, he was unbeaten in three consecutive bouts before that. Weirdly enough, this wouldn’t be the first time Gamrot has bailed the UFC out after Hooker pulled out of a fight as he came in on short notice to defeat Jalin Turner at UFC 285. Gamrot was also the official backup at UFC 294 when Charles Oliveira pulled out ten days before the event and he was still passed over by the promotion. It might time for the UFC to do him a solid, now. Additionally, Gamrot’s fight with Hooker last August was not only thoroughly entertaining, but an extremely close split decision that truly could’ve gone either way. So in a sense, he was one round on one judge’s scorecard away from potentially finding himself in this spot anyway.
On the Gaethje side of things, he’s spent his entire training getting prepared for Hooker. Gamrot’s style is such a massive contrast that no one would fault him for at least asking for a striker in exchange for staying on the card and saving the event.
- Renato Moicano
Moicano, who has already thrown his name in the hat on social media, finds himself in a similar spot to Gamrot. He’s also coming off a loss and ranked quite a few spots below Gaethje. The Brazilian has done a good job growing his name among the fanbase on social media. He now has a much bigger presence in the sport than the Polish fighter. Despite also being a grappling-first fighter, it’s his stature that may give him an edge in the Gaethje sweepstakes.
Fun fact: Almost three years ago to the day, Moicano was accepting a short notice fight to save a Pay-Per-View co-main event in March.
- Rafael Fiziev
The man they call “Ataman” was the one Moicano was filling in for three years ago. Wouldn’t it be perfect if this time it was Fiziev’s turn to come in on short notice? He was the first to hop on social media to say he can make the date.
Fiziev suffered an unfortunate leg injury in his main event against Gamrot in September of 2023. It was an unsatisfying and inconclusive ending to the fight; no one really sees it as a loss on his record. Before then, he lost a majority decision to Gaethje himself. However, what a lot of people forget is that Fiziev was poked badly in the eye, a foul that clearly affected him, yet no point was taken. Most importantly, in spite of the eye poke, 10 of the 27 media members scored that fight for Fiziev on mmadecisions.
Fiziev has been vocal about his recovery being finished and has been fishing for fights since the fall. What we have on our hands is an exciting, hungry contender in his prime who was on a six-fight win streak before a disputable decision loss and an injury stoppage. He’s by far the most deserving of any of the potential names out there. Their first meeting got ‘Fight of the Night’ honours and I’m sure Justin Gaethje, of all people, wouldn’t mind another bonus on his record. Let’s run it back, this time for five rounds.
