Rafael Fiziev teases new fight news just days after his UFC 313 loss to Justin Gaethje

13/03/2025 13:41

Despite losing to Justin Gaethje again this past Saturday at UFC 313, Rafael Fiziev hasn’t lost much stock.

Following a long injury layoff after he tore his ACL against Mateusz Gamrot in September 2023, Rafael Fizev was seemingly struggling to find a return fight.

That was until Justin Gaethje was left without an opponent for his UFC 313 fight after Dan Hooker withdrew just a few weeks out.

Fortunately for Fiziev, he received the call to rematch Gaethje, which he labeled as ‘a miracle’ considering their first meeting in 2023.

Gaethje went on to bounce back from his UFC 300 loss to Max Holloway, picking up another decision win against Fiziev after another three round war.

Rafael Fiziev teases fight news just days after UFC 313 loss

Although ‘Attaman’ will now have another red mark next to his name, he once again hasn’t lost any stock despite the loss, as he took the fight on extremely late notice.

However, that hasn’t stopped Fiziev from contemplating a big career move, as earlier this week, the Azerbaijani claimed that there is a big possibility that his next fight will take place at featherweight.

Fiziev is widely regarded as quite a small 155lber and he woke up the day after the official weigh-ins at 161lbs, which is extremely undersized for the division.

And now only a few days removed from his loss to Gaethje, the Muay Thai specialist has teased that news regarding his next fight may not be too far around the corner.

“Good news coming soon,” Fiziev posted on his Instagram story as he posed for a picture with UFC matchmaker, Hunter Campbell.

The 32-year-old also posted a reaction to his fight, claiming it was the first time he’s gone into a fight ‘smiling’.

“For the first time in my life, I went into the battle smiling,” he began his statement.

Who could Rafael Fiziev fight in his UFC featherweight debut?

Despite having never truly been in lightweight title contention, with Ilia Topuria’s recent featherweight title vacation, the 145lb division is open for new contenders.

There are several fights at featherweight that could make sense for Fiziev, one being against Movsar Evloev.

The undefeated Russian may have felt hard done by to miss out on the vacant featherweight title fight, which will be between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes, and he will likely have to wait a while before he is considered for a shot.

Another fight that could make sense for Fiziev, is a clash against Arnold Allen. ‘Almighty’ Allen is coming off a win against Giga Chikadze and is still a few wins away from title contention.