Rafael Fiziev Steps in to Rematch Justin Gaethje at UFC 313

Rafael Fiziev has accepted to fight Justin Gaethje in the UFC 313 co-main event on less than two weeks notice after Dan Hooker pulled out due to a hand injury.

The lightweight bout will be a rematch after Gaethje beat "Ataman" via majority decision in March 2023.

It will be Fiziev's first fight in almost a year and a half, since the Kazakhstani fighter suffered a knee injury against Mateusz Gamrot.

Upon the fight announcement, Fiziev posted two simple message to X that said: "For the fans.

"Nothing but respect. Let’s put on a show."

A number of fighters took to social media to throw their name in the hat to fight Gaethje, but the American claims in reality Fiziev was the only man to step up as he said: "Arman and Charles understandably said no. Max and Dustin understandably said no. Moicano got the call and said no. Props to Fiziev for volunteering to fly across the world and take this fight."

The original UFC 313 co-main event was scheduled for five rounds, but with the short notice change, it will now be a maximum three rounds.

Featured image: WikiCommons, Source(https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Justin_Gaethje_at_press_conference.png)