"It was also Disneyland" - Rafael Fiziev details brutal impact of Justin Gaethje’s uppercut at UFC 313

Rafael Fiziev made his return to the octagon last weekend after a nearly 18-month hiatus, suffering a unanimous decision loss to Justin Gaethje in the co-main event of UFC 313. The No.11-ranked lightweight recently shared how an uppercut landed by his opponent drastically changed the way the fight was going after he won the first round on all three judges' scorecards.

Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, 'Ataman' stated:

"This uppercut changed all this fight. Honestly, this uppercut is like whoa, and when I stand up from this uppercut in the second round, I was like in Disneyland. Everything like this on my head. I don't know how I was standing. When I was going to sit before round three, I'm sitting and still, it's Disneyland. Round three, beginning of the round, maybe first two minutes or one and a half minutes, it was also Disneyland."

Fiziev continued:

"All my life I'm thinking, if somebody punched me so hard that I'm going to knock down like I have, can I stand up? Can I stand up and continue in the fight or not? All my life, I'm thinking about that. This is the first time I'm like, 'Oh I get it'. I stand up and I finished the fight, good, okay."

Check out Rafael Fiziev's comments on Justin Gaethje's uppercut below:

Fiziev noted that his cardio wasn't the best after taking the bout on 10 days' notice. He added that it was the first time in his life that he was smiling going into a fight after making his return from injury.

Rafael Fiziev shares that he is considering moving to featherweight

Rafael Fiziev suffered his third consecutive loss as he fell to Justin Gaethje via unanimous decision at UFC 313. The No.11-ranked lightweight revealed that he is considering a move to featherweight during his recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, stating:

"I'm starting to think, right now, about changing weight divisions because I really cut weight very easily this time and it was short notice... Right now, I have to think maybe about it... It's possible [that my next fight is at featherweight]. I think about it long time because I'm not big for this division and my body, I lose weight so easily... I'm 170, I wake up 161. I feel [Gaethje] was bigger. When we fought, I see a big guy."

Check out Rafael Fiziev's comments on moving to featherweight below:

Fiziev shared that he has not considered potential opponents at featherweight but wants to fight all of the division's top contenders. He added that everyone would be in trouble if he made the move to 145.