Justin Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev targeted for UFC 286 on March 18

It has been reported that Justin Gaethje will meet Rafael Fiziev at UFC 286 at the O2 Arena in London, England on March 18th.…

By: Eddie Mercado | 5 months ago
Justin Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev targeted for UFC 286 on March 18
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

It has been reported that Justin Gaethje will meet Rafael Fiziev at UFC 286 at the O2 Arena in London, England on March 18th.

Brett Okamoto of ESPN first broke the news, stating that the UFC’s #3 ranked lightweight in Gaethje will collide with the #6 ranked Fiziev. This matchup will likely be UFC 286’s co-main event, while Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman 3 will be the card’s headliner.

The last time we saw Gaethje in action was when he came up short in his lightweight title fight with Charles Oliveira at UFC 274 in May of last year. Gaethje is coming off of a loss, but he has won five of his last seven, and consistently brings the ruckus every time out. As for Fiziev, he is currently on a six-fight winning streak, with his last performance being a spectacular left hook knockout of the UFC’s former lightweight champion, Rafael dos Anjos.

Fiziev has the technical striking edge in this one, and is a physical specimen in his own right, but Gaethje has an experience edge against elite competition — and he’s an absolute dog. I wouldn’t count on a lot of grappling going on here, and there’s a great chance that somebody is getting finished… by viscous strikes, severe swelling, or a nasty cut. This stylistic matchup promises to deliver violence of the highest caliber, and for anyone not from England or not related to Kamaru Usman, this is the people’s main event.

Check out the current UFC 286 lineup:

Main card:

Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman: Welterweight title

Justin Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev: Lightweight

Marvin Vettori vs. Roman Dolidze: Middleweight

Gunnar Nelson vs. Daniel Rodriguez: Welterweight

Prelims:

Joanne Wood vs. Luana Carolina: (W) Flyweight

Jake Hadley vs. Malcolm Gordon: Flyweight

Jennifer Maia vs. Casey O’Neill: (W) Flyweight

Jai Herbert vs. Ľudovít Klein: Lightweight

Lerone Murphy vs. Nathaniel Wood: Featherweight

Veronica Macedo vs. Juliana Miller: (W) Flyweight

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Eddie Mercado
Eddie Mercado

Eddie Mercado is a writer and content creator for Bloody Elbow, and has covered combat sports since 2015. Eddie covers everything from betting odds and live events, to fighter interviews and co-hosting the 6th Round post-fight show and the 6th Round Retro. He retired at 1-0 in professional MMA, competed in one Muay Thai match in Thailand, and is currently a purple belt in Jiu-Jitsu under the great Diego Bispo.

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