Rafael Fiziev opens up on 'stupid decisions' that led to loss against Justin Gaethje

Rafael Fiziev is frustrated with his performance against Justin Gaethje.

In the UFC 286 co-main event, Fiziev and Gaethje earned fight of the night honors for their thrilling three-round war. When the dust settled, ‘The Highlight’ had his hand raised with a majority decision scorecard (29-28 x2 and 28-28).

‘Ataman’ joined Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour to discuss his recent loss. During their conversation, he had this to say about his performance:

“I don’t like this fight. I made a lot of stupid decisions, a lot of stupid decisions. I played his game. I played his game by going fight like just wanna make everything crazy." [6:00-6:40]

Gaethje thrives on chaos in the Octagon. Unfortunately for Fiziev, ‘The Highlight’ lured him into a brawl, leading to a decision win.

Fiziev’s loss at UFC 286 ended his six-fight win streak, which started in October 2019. ‘Ataman’ gained respect from MMA fans, but he needed a win to get closer to earning a title shot.

On the contrary, Gaethje bounced back from his loss against Charles Oliveira for the vacant UFC lightweight championship. ‘The Highlight’ is now one step closer to securing another title shot opportunity.

Watch Rafael Fiziev and more on The MMA Hour below:

---

Rafael Fiziev knew he lost before Justin Gatheje had his hand raised

Rafael Fiziev vs. Justin Gaethje was a back-and-forth battle. Once the fight was over, it was unclear who would get their hand raised. During the same interview with Ariel Helwani, Fiziev was asked if he thought he would win while waiting to hear the scorecards. ‘Ataman’ responded by saying:

“Nah, I’m a professional fighter, I know like when I win and when I lost.” [8:43-8:48]

Judge Paul Sutherland scored the third round a 10-8 for Gaethje. Although it would not have affected the outcome, Helwani asked Fiziev if he thought the 10-8 was warranted. ‘Ataman’ had this to say:

“A 10-8? I don’t know. 10-8 is too much. I lost this round, but not 10-8.” [9:07-9:18]

Fiziev’s minor setback will likely lead to an opponent ranked outside the top 5 in his next fight. Luckily for ‘Ataman,’ he’s only 30 years old and continues to evolve every time he steps into the Octagon. It’s only a matter of time before the Kyrgyzstan-born finds himself in a number-one contender matchup.