Justin Gaethje is set to rematch an old rival in his return to the octagon after his initial opponent pulled out.
‘The Highlight’ was due to face Dan Hooker in the co-main event of UFC 313; his first fight since being knocked out by Max Holloway for the BMF belt at UFC 300 last April. However, Hooker was forced out with an injury, meaning the promotion needed to book a new fight.
Now, Gaethje will face a man whom he defeated once before back in London, as he looks to make one final run for UFC gold. He is one of the rare contenders who has yet to lose to Islam Makhachev, and the champion has regularly stated his desire to fight the fan favorite.
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Justin Gaethje vs Rafael Fiziev 2 booked for UFC 313 co-main event
In a post leaked by the UFC Australia Instagram account, a poster was shared showing Justin Gaethje vs Rafael Fiziev being booked for UFC 313. Dana White then made the announcement official in an Instagram live video where he dropped other news about future shows.
“The new co-main event for March 8 in Las Vegas is going to be Gaethje vs Fiziev,” White confirmed. “I don’t know how much I’ve got to sell Gaethje for you! Before his last fight Fiziev had six straight performance bonuses including his first fight with Gaethje.”
The news comes after Dan Hooker suffered a fracture in his hand that would force him out of the fight in Las Vegas. Fiziev immediately took to social media to offer his services, and clearly his wish was granted for a quick rematch.
He simply wrote “Let’s run it back @Justin_Gaethje”, and it seems that the promotion saw and immediately made the fight.
Justin Gaethje defeated Rafael Fiziev in first showdown two years ago
Last time out, defeating Rafael Fiziev was enough to earn Justin Gaethje a fight for the vacant BMF title at UFC 291. He first had to get through the Kazakhstan native, who had to that point been on a six-fight winning streak including a scalp of former champion Rafael Dos Anjos.
The pair put on a Fight of the Night at UFC 286 in London’s O2 Arena that won them both $50,000 bonuses and sent Gaethje on his way to the gimmick belt. After that, Fiziev made a quick return in September against Mateusz Gamrot.
However, that bout ended in disaster when a leg injury forced him to stop the fight and saw Gamrot have his hand raised as the winner. Both men were believed to have been in the running for the newly-scheduled Gaethje fight.