Tonight’s UFC Fight Night card is much better than the normal Apex fodder we get. As a matter of fact, this doesn’t really seem like an Apex card at all. With three ranked fights and lots of recognizable talent, it almost feels like the matchmaking brass cares about the product they’re churning out. In any event, it’s a pretty good card.
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Preview
Rafael Fiziev is a crowd favorite because he’s willing to get right in the pocket and go for broke. His fight with Justin Gaethje ended up being close enough to go to a majority decision for Gaethje, but Rafael turned in a gutsy performance that put fans in attendance on their feet for the entirety of the bout. That marked the first loss he’s taken in a UFC fight since 2019 when he lost via TKO to Magomed Mustafaev.
Before the loss to Gaethje, he’d gone on a six-fight win streak over names like Rafael dos Anjos, Bobby Green, Brad Riddell and Renato Moicano. He’ll have a monumental task in front of him with Mateusz Gamrot, a well-rounded athlete with great wrestling and very good hands.
Gamrot enters this fight coming off a split decision win over Jalin Turner. He was on a four-fight win streak when he ran into Beniel Dariush, who almost ended up with a shutout on the scorecards. No shame in that loss as Dariush is a grappling god with considerable knockout power. Let’s take a look at their stats and accolades to see how they stack up:
Rafael Fiziev
- Ranked No. 6 at Lightweight
- 12-2 record with 8 knockout wins and 1 submission win
- POTN x3
- FOTN x3
- Longest UFC winning streak: 6
- Current streak: 1 loss
Mateusz Gamrot
- Ranked No. 7 at Lightweight
- 22-2 record with 7 knockout wins and 5 submission wins
- POTN x2
- FOTN x2
- Longest UFC winning streak: 4
- Current streak: 1 win
Fiziev vs. Gamrot live play-by-play
Round 1
Ganmrot with a left jab answered by a left from Fiziev. Left high kick by Fiziev. Lot of respect being shown right now. Left-right lands for Gamrot. Left lands for Gamrot answered by a lightning combo from Fiziev that lands hard. Hard right by Fiziev as Gamrot shoots in.
Right by Gamrot gets in. Right by Gamrot again. Quick right to the body by Fiziev. Nasty left kick to the body by Fiziev. Gamrot with a glancing right body kick. Front body kick by Fiziev. Low kick takes Gamrot briefly off his feet. Gamrot shoots, and manages to briefly get Fiziev to touch canvas as the horn sounds.
Round 2
Right lands for Gamrot. Front kick by Fiziev is caught by Gamrot and turned into a takedown. Gamrot now has his back as Fiziev works his way back up. Gamrot super heavy on Fiziev as he finally regains his footing. Gamrot with knees in the clinch. Fiziev spins out and throws a big right kick to the body and collapses as his left knee gave out. Gamrot will win by injury TKO.
Official Decision
Mateusz Gamrot def. Rafael Fiziev by TKO (injury to L knee) at 2:03 of Round 2: Lightweight
UFC Fight Night: Rafael Fiziev vs. Mateusz Gamrot: Quick Results
Main card
- – Mateusz Gamrot def. Rafael Fiziev by TKO (injury to L knee) at 2:03 of Round 2: Lightweight
- – Bryce Mitchell def. Dan Ige by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2): Featherweight
- – Marina Rodriguez def. Michelle Waterson-Gomez by TKO at 2:42 of round 2: Strawweight
- – Bryan Battle def. AJ Fletcher by submission (RNC) at 4:32 of round 2: Welterweight
- – Charles Jourdain def. Ricardo Ramos by submission (Guillotine) at 3:12 of round 1: Featherweight
Prelims
- – Miles Johns def. Dan Argueta by unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28): Bantamweight
- – Tim Means def. Andre Fialho by TKO at 1:15 of round 3: Welterweight
- – Cody Brundage def. Jacob Malkoun by DQ at 4:15 of round 1: Middleweight
- – Mohammed Usman def. Jake Collier by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2): Heavyweight
- – Mizuki Inoue def. Hannah Goldy by unanimous decision (29-28 x3): Strawweight
- – Montserrat Rendon def. Tamires Vidal by split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29): (W) Bantamweight
Start date and time
UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs. Gamrot takes place on September 23rd, at the APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card starts at 7 p.m. ET. The prelims begin at 4 p.m. ET.
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