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Justin Gaethje responded to Rafael Fiziev after the latter accused him of running during most of their fight.
In March 2023, Gaethje and Fiziev went to war for three rounds during the UFC 286: Edwards vs. Usman III main card. Once the dust settled, ‘The Highlight’ emerged victorious by majority decision, ending the six-fight win streak of ‘Ataman.’
Fiziev recently did an interview with The AllStar and talked about various topics, including his loss against Gaethje. While discussing the three-round slugfest, ‘Ataman’ accused ‘The Highlight’ of running during their fight by saying:
“[Gaethje] run away from me for two rounds, he run away. He started to win [against] me only after an eye poke because my eye doesn’t see anything. Big wide circle on my right eye the whole fight, big wide circle. I didn’t see anything with my right eye. He fight good only after eye poke and round three when I started to get tired. He ran away for two rounds.”
Fiziev’s comments were re-posted on X and became somewhat controversial. Gaethje saw the video and responded by saying:
“Not a good look here. I hit him so hard he forgot which eye got poked. Your right eye got torched by my right hand kid.”
Watch Rafael Fiziev accuse Justin Gaethje of running when they fought below:
What’s next for Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev?
Justin Gaethje’s win against Rafael Fiziev was much needed after suffering a first-round submission loss against Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title. Gaethje’s UFC 286 performance led to a rematch against Dustin Poirier, where he secured a second-round knockout win to become the BMF champion.
On April 13, Gaethje will return to the Octagon and defend his BMF title at 155 pounds. ‘The Highlight’ will meet an unexpected opponent at UFC 300, as he’s scheduled to fight former featherweight champion Max Holloway in a must-see fight.
As for Fiziev, he’s fought once since losing against Gaethje, a fight night main event against Mateusz Gamrot in Sep. 2023. As the bout was heating up, Fiziev suffered a severe knee injury that led to his second consecutive loss and a lengthy recovery process.
Fiziev is expected to return in mid-2024 with plenty of options for his next opponent.
