Justin Gaethje is not happy to be sitting on the sidelines watching two other fighters battle for the vacant lightweight title, and Rafael Fiziev agrees with him.
Fiziev returns to the octagon this Saturday in the co-main event of UFC Baku and faces surging lightweight contender Ignacio Bahamondes. Fiziev recently returned from a long layoff and faced Gaethje in a short notice rematch at UFC 313 in March, losing a competitive decision.
Of course, “Ataman” would’ve loved to get his hand raised, but Fiziev knows he gained more big fight experience in the process.
“Well it’s my first time short notice like that in the UFC and it was a big risk,” Fiziev told MMA Fighting. “Before this fight, like when I get this fight, when I accept for this fight, when I give my name. I knew there’s always a big risk in this business when you’re going to fight on short notice like that.
“I think just [I gained] more experience, one more big fight with a legend like Justin, is just more experience from [Justin] — like with this fight [with] Bahamondes that I have right now. I think I have more experience with with fight with Justin in Vegas. So this is big experience, big arena. I just [gained] more experience.”
In their first meeting at UFC 286, Gaethje picked up a majority decision win in another competitive battle.
Not having a full camp certainly changed things for Fiziev in their rematch, but it allowed him to make some different adjustments he hasn’t had to make in the past.
“I just controlled myself more than in the first fight,” Fiziev said. I know I have to control my energy. I don’t want to lose my stamina very quick and that’s how I [approached the fight] with this brain when I fight him for a second time. [I had to try to fight him] with this brain [for the rematch] when I [didn’t] have a full camp. But it is what it is.”
Recently, Gaethje expressed his frustration with the UFC that he was “f*cked” in not getting the chance to fight for the vacant title after doing the UFC a favor and remaining on the UFC 313 card following Dan Hooker’s injury. Instead, the promotion booked former featherweight champ Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira for the vacant title after Islam Makhachev moved up to welterweight.
Fiziev feels Gaethje deserved one final day in court to fight for the championship, and hopes Gaethje gets the winner of the UFC 317 main event.
“I agree he deserves the title shot, for sure,” Fiziev said. “He deserves that shot, not because he just beat me, of course, but if not him, who deserves the [next] title shot? He’s stayed on the top a long time. [For a] long time, he’s stayed in top-three. He just lost to Max.
“I think he deserves this, and if he gets [the winner of Topuria vs. Oliveira], I’m happy for him.”
