Justin Gaethje: Rafael Fiziev makes feelings known and expresses gratitude toward Justin Gaethje for accepting short-notice rematch: "You gave me this chance"

Rafael Fiziev recently expressed his gratitude toward Justin Gaethje for accepting their rematch on short notice. He noted that he was grateful for the opportunity to avenge his loss and wanted to thank 'The Highlight' personally.

The lightweight clash is scheduled to take place this Saturday at UFC 313 and will serve as the co-main event. The bout materialized after Gaethje's original opponent, Dan Hooker, was forced to withdraw due to a hand injury and was replaced by the No.11-ranked lightweight.

During his latest appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Fiziev mentioned that Gaethje was very kind for accepting the bout, knowing the potential risks that can come with a loss:

"This is stars of the stars in this game. And fight with [Gaethje] for me is like, I want to go and shake the hands of Justin and say, 'Bro, you give me this chance again, man? I'm not deserving of it and you give me this chance.' Yeah, I know the situation, you have full camp, you want to fight, you don't want to pull out from this card. But still... thank you so much."

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Rafael Fiziev says he was unsure whether he would ever get a rematch against Justin Gaethje

Prior to stepping in to replace Dan Hooker at UFC 313, Rafael Fiziev said that he was unsure whether he would ever get to fight Justin Gaethje a second time.

During the aforementioned interview, Fiziev said that he believed a rematch was in doubt because of the gap in the rankings (Gaethje is No.3), and 'The Highlight's' place in the lightweight title picture made it unlikely:

"This is a miracle, man. For me, it's like a miracle because every time I have some interview, people were saying, 'What do you think about a rematch [against Gaethje]?' I would say, 'No, man, now I'm far from Justin and it cannot happen because I have to win maybe two fights or more if I want a rematch with him'... Now it's boom, like that for me. Like, wow, a miracle."

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About the author

Giancarlo Aulino is an MMA news writer and interviewer at Sportskeeda. Having been onboard since 2021, Aulino has written list articles, before transitioning to MMA news writing.

In addition to writing at Sportskeeda, Aulino can be heard on VIBE 105.5FM in Toronto, Canada, where he conducts interviews called 'VIBEtalks.' Aulino's segments have featured many respected athletes, broadcasters, and celebrities. In 2024, Aulino, along with his VIBE 105 Sports team members, rebranded their content to The Game Plan 'TGP'.

In addition to MMA, Aulino was previously a pro wrestling writer and soccer (Football) reporter and covered Toronto FC (Major League Soccer) and York United FC (Canadian Premier League).

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Edited by Gerard Crispin