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Rafael Fiziev has offered his prediction for the rematch between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira.
Makhachev and Oliveira are set to face each other for a second time with the lightweight championship up for grabs in the main event of UFC 294. The pay-per-view is scheduled to take place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on October 21.
Makhachev secured the UFC lightweight championship with a dominant second-round submission victory over 'Do Bronx' at UFC 280 last year.
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In an exclusive interview with James Lynch for Sportskeeda MMA, Rafael Fiziev provided his analysis of the fight and picked Makhachev to win again. Notably, 'Ataman' had previously predicted the Russian to beat Oliveira in their previous encounter last year. Fiziev said:
"Same [Makhachev] I pick now because I think Oliveira doesn't change anything. He is still like, is very elite wrestler, a very elite grappler but in his last fight he showed again. I think if you are going the same with Islam that's not good for him because if you are trying to jump for a guard, for a close guard and with Islam that's not too good."
Check out Fiziev's comments below (from 8:26):
Rafael Fiziev "excited" about fighting Mateusz Gamrot
Rafael Fiziev is preparing for his lightweight bout against Mateusz Gamrot in the main event of UFC Vegas 79 on September 23 at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas.
'Ataman' aims to bounce back after his Fight of the Night defeat to Justin Gaethje at UFC 286 in March. On the other hand, Gamrot is fresh off a closely contested split-decision win against Jalin Turner at UFC 285.
During the same interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Fiziev expressed his enthusiasm for his upcoming bout against 'Gamer':
"Yeah, I'm excited. Because he is the first guy to call me in the UFC, called me to the fight, I was like 'Woah, wow, nice.' We did it just together we don't need a matchmaker or something. He just called me and I said yes let's go."
Check out Fiziev's comments below (from 0:24):
