2023 was a rough year for top-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight contender, Rafael Fiziev.
Fiziev, 30, has been one of the most exciting talents at 155 pounds since his promotional debut in April 2019. His run in the Octagon got off to a rough start when he lost by first round knockout against Magomed Mustafayev, but he’s gone 6-2 (12-3 overall) to follow it up and establish himself as a Top 10 contender.
In Fiziev’s biggest fight to date, he took on two-time title challenger and one-time interim titlist, Justin Gaethje, at UFC 286 in March 2023. Unfortunately for “Ataman,” Gaethje snapped his six-fight winning streak when he earned the majority decision nod in their Fight of the Night battle. However, Fiziev believes it could have been even better had “The Highlight” fought in a more vintage fashion.
“[Gaethje] ran away from me for two rounds,” Fiziev told The AllStar. “He started to win only after an eye poke because my eye doesn’t see anything. It was a big wide circle on my right eye all fight. I didn’t see anything with my right eye. So, he fight only going good after the eye poke and round three when I started to get tired.
“He run away for two rounds,” he continued. “Run, run, run. Maybe it’s his gameplan, my gameplan is s—t and I do a lot of s—t on this fight, don’t listen to my corner, don’t follow the gameplan, but sti,ll he run away two rounds.”
Now the official Baddest Motherf—ker (BMF) champion with his knockout of Dustin Poirier (watch highlights) after his Fiziev win, Gaethje wasn’t too keen on the comments.
“Not a good look here,” Gaethje responded on Twitter. “I hit him so hard he forgot which eye got poked. Your right eye got torched by my right hand, kid.”
Fiziev has been on the mend in life post-Gaethje, as he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) against Mateusz Gamrot in September 2023 (watch highlights). Meanwhile, Gaethje is gearing up for a big BMF title defense opposite former UFC Featherweight champion, Max Holloway, at UFC 300 on April 13, 2024.