UFC 313 suffered a significant blow just over a week out when Dan Hooker withdrew from the must-see co-main event.
Of all the fights that the UFC have announced through 2025 thus far, the lightweight clash on March 8 between Hooker and Justin Gaethje jumped off the page.
With ‘The Hangman’ out due to a hand injury, several potential opponents put their hands up to step in and face Gaethje including Rafael Fiziev.
The replacement has since been confirmed with Gaethje facing Fiziev in a rematch at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
One man that isn’t happy about the new matchup is another man that was trying to secure the fight but wasn’t picked on this occasion.
Mateusz Gamrot says the UFC went with the ‘easier choice’ for Justin Gaethje at UFC 313
When looking at the potential options to face Justin Gaethje, Rafael Fiziev ticked several boxes for UFC 313.
‘Ataman’ may not be the same blood and guts fighter that Dan Hooker is but he has history with Gaethje and if their upcoming rematch is anything like their fight of the night bout at UFC 286 in London (which Gaethje won via majority decision), we’re in for a great co-main event.
It was also clear that Fiziev would be ready and able to step-in with the 31-year-old striker regularly calling out opponents so that he could make his long awaited return to the Octagon having been out since September of 2023 due to an injury.
The man that he faced in his last outing was Mateusz Gamrot with their main event bout at the UFC Apex ending prematurely when Fiziev suffered a leg injury in the second round, giving the Polish contender the win.
Gamrot also put his name in the mix to face Gaethje on March 8 as he looks to bounce back from his split decision loss to Hooker at UFC 305 in August.
In a post on social media where he reacted to the news, ‘Gamer’ claimed that the UFC went with the “easier” option for Gaethje in putting him against a striker rather than a grappler.
“Easier choice stylistically. Strikers have always feared wrestlers. I keep in great shape and I’m ready for anyone!”
Fiziev, who publicly stated in the past that he wanted a rematch with Gamrot, mentioned this in his response to his former opponent’s comments.
“No one fears you. You are the one who turned down our rematch on February 1st”
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There is some truth to what Mateusz Gamrot claimed
Whilst the debate over whether the UFC picked an “easier” fight for Justin Gaethje at UFC 313 is a separate conversation, Mateusz Gamrot is right about one thing.
The promotion likely did go with Rafael Fiziev instead because of his fighting style which we have already seen mesh well with ‘The Highlight’.
There’s no denying that Gamrot is a legitimate lightweight contender but his wrestling-heavy approach might not have made for the best spectacle on March 8.
Just a few days ago, fans were expected to see an all-out striking war between Gaethje and Dan Hooker so giving them a completely different stylistic matchup wouldn’t have made up for it.