Las Vegas — Lightweight Rafael Fiziev, who steps into a rematch with Justin Gaethje on short notice this Saturday, has been waiting on the sidelines for a while now. And that’s not entirely due to injury.
Speaking to media outlets at Wednesday’s UFC 313 media day, ahead of his first fight since September of 2023, Fiziev explained that he’s essentially been waiting for a fight the entire time.
“All this time, I’m waiting [for] the fights, waiting [for] some callouts, and I see nobody. So I made my decision, I have to look [at] my weight, I have to check my weight every day, watch my weight and stay in shape, maximum how I can,” stated Fiziev (12-3), speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press. “And I believed maybe I’ll go to short notice because nobody [will] fight [me].”
Fiziev did sustain a knee injury in his fight with Mateusz Gamrot back in 2023, which would have taken some time to heal up. But it’s clear he’s been waiting to return for a while now, only to hear nothing from the UFC. “I just said to my manager, ‘if you have some message from the UFC, don’t ask me, I’ll say yes for you for everybody,'” Fiziev revealed. “‘Top 15, top 10, not ranked, debut guy or somebody. Just don’t ask me, say yes, I’m ready for it. I just want to go fight.'”
As it turned out, with Dan Hooker withdrawing from his fight with Gaethje, an opportunity for a rematch arose. Fiziev jumped on it, looking for a chance to avenge a majority decision loss at UFC 286. Ahead of their second fight, Justin Gaethje has suggested a return to his old, WSOF style, moving forward more.
That doesn’t seem to intimidate Rafael Fiziev at all. “It doesn’t matter. I like Justin who goes forward, who makes a house in the octagon. I like that. I waited for that in the first fight, but I go for the war, he goes for the win. If he goes like that, it makes me more happy.”
Fiziev also shared the lesson he took away from his first fight with Gaethje.
“I think I learned from the first fight, I don’t have to follow emotions, I don’t have to follow [my] character,” said Fiziev. “Sometimes you have to forget about your character and stay cold, follow [the] game plan.”
In particular, Fiziev told Cageside Press regarding the first fight that the sound of fans cheering swayed him to make choices he might otherwise not have.
“It’s my decision. It’s my decisions during the fight. Because like I said, I followed my emotions. I heard the arena, I heard how people were screaming when we had some action. I heard my corners, they were saying ‘hey, move, step back, no need to go forward so much’ but I’m thinking, inside I’m thinking ‘no man, no guys look the arena is going crazy, it’s a bonus and I want the arena screaming more.’ That’s what I was thinking in the fight.”
Watch the full UFC 313 media day appearance by Rafael Fiziev above.
