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Justin Gaethje did not appear impressed with Rafael Fiziev's assessment of their UFC 286 clash that earned the Fight of the Night honors. The pair went to war for all three rounds, with 'The Highlight' being awarded a majority decision victory.
During a recent interview with The AllStar, 'Ataman' claimed that Gaethje ran away from him for the first two rounds of their clash. He also pointed to an apparent eye poke as the main reason for his defeat, and stated that he could not see out of his right eye following the poke.
The BMF titleholder fired back at his former opponent, which has now drawn a response from the Muay Thai specialist.
Fiziev took to X to share his response to 'The Highlight', and wrote this:
"The fact is that the fight dynamics shifted for me after the eye poke. It’s my fault that I didn’t take the time to recover. Unfortunately eye pokes happen and we as a fighters should be ready for such accidents (especially your opponents) No disrespect meant, I’m rooting for u."
See Rafael Fiziev's reply to Justin Gaethje below:
Justin Gaethje's UFC 300 clash with Max Holloway broken down by Michael Bisping
Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway are set to face off on the much anticipated UFC 300 card, which will take place on Apr. 13.
The pair will do battle for the BMF title, a belt that 'The Highlight' won against Dustin Poirier at UFC 291 last year. Gaethje secured the strap with a perfectly placed head kick that knocked his opponent out.
Former UFC champion Michael Bisping recently broke down the matchup between Gaethje and Holloway. 'The Count' believes that both men will hold certain advantages over the other going into the fight, but he did not predict a winner for the matchup:
"On paper, it's all leaning towards Justin Gaethje. But you can never count out Max Holloway... [Holloway] is not really a one hitter quitter. He's not knocking people out like Gaethje did against Dustin Poirier."
He continued:
"I'll say it like this, [Holloway] doesn't have the raw power that Justin Gaethje does. But he does probably have better speed, probably has better technique. But he is the lighter guy and he won't be as strong... I will say this, all credit to that man for stepping up and taking on this challenge."
Watch the video below from 5:25:
