LAS VEGAS — The phone rang in Rafael Fiziev’s home at 7 a.m. The house was still, everyone but Fiziev still asleep.
It wouldn’t remain that way for long, as an unexpected celebration was about to break out and stir the family from its slumber.
Fiziev hadn’t fought since tearing an ACL in his knee in the second round of a Sept. 23, 2023, bout at Apex against Mateusz Gamrot. He’d cleared all of the hurdles in his rehab and was so anxious to get back into the Octagon that he’d given his manager some odd instructions:
If you get a call offering me a fight, say yes, no matter who it is, he told manager Sayat Abdrakhmanov.
“I’ve been fighting since I was 11 or 12 years old, and I never had a break like that, so long,” Fiziev said of his injury-induced layoff. “I really missed [fighting]. I told my manager, ‘If you have UFC offering some guy for Rafael, don’t ask me. Say yes. Say yes to anybody: Ranking in Top 15, Top 10, no ranking. Wherever, say yes.’ ”
Fiziev had been awake for a bit and pondering his day when Abdrakhmanov called. The UFC had indeed reached out, and had a fight to offer.
He was finally healthy, so he knew a call with an offer could come at any time. He wasn’t expecting this, however: An offer to fight Justin Gaethje fulfilled his dream in a short, unexpected and stunning phone call. Fiziev had lost a majority decision to Gaethje in a memorable scrap at UFC 286, and while he’d longed for a rematch, he figured it would take at least two wins to make it happen.
Dan Hooker broke his hand and needed surgery, so he pulled out of the planned co-main event at UFC 313 Saturday at T-Mobile Arena against Gaethje.
But as he wiped the sleep from his eyes, Fiziev realized this was no joke.
“It was my birthday gift,” Fiziev said, beaming. “On March 5, I have a birthday. For me, this is an early birthday gift. My manager called me early in the morning and said, ‘Hey! Pack your bags. We’re going to America!” Fiziev let out a whoop and began to scream excitedly. His wife woke up and groggily found him to find out what was going on.
“She said, ‘What happened?’ ” Fiziev recalled. “I said, ‘We’re going to America. We’re going to fight with Justin. Woohoo!’ My kids were wondering what was happening and said ‘Papa, what’s going on?’ I said, ‘I’m going to America.’ ”
Many MMA fans reacted similarly upon hearing of Hooker’s injury. The complaints turned to cheers, though, when Fiziev quickly replaced Hooker.
Fiziev is in so many ways a mini-Gaethje. Gaethje has won 13 post-fight bonuses in 13 UFC fights and is so thrilling, he’s been dubbed “The Highlight.”
Fiziev has nine UFC fights, going 6-3, and has won six post-fight bonuses, including a Fight of the Night award for that epic scrap against Gaethje at UFC 286. He lost his chance for a bonus against Gamrot when he was injured, and in his first UFC outing, he was knocked out 90 seconds into the fight, so there was no chance there.
He’s been a guarantee almost ever since, though. It doesn’t take much to get Gaethje going. Hearing the bell ring sets off a Pavlovian response for Gaethje, who said at media day on Wednesday he expected a wild fight again. Gaethje hopes to leave the Octagon in one piece, healthy enough to hit the golf course with his Dad and twin brother on Sunday morning.
Fiziev, though, isn’t so intent on just drawing Gaethje into a slugfest. He came within a gnat’s eyelash of defeating Gaethje in 2023 but felt his approach was wrong.
Gaethje, surprisingly, was focused on fighting smart, Fiziev said.
“I went out looking to make it a war,” Fiziev said. “He tried to use his head, fight smart.”
That was the difference in a fight where the distance between the two was no more than the fuzz on a tick’s ear.
Per Haljestam/Imagn Images
Rafael Fiziev (R) reacts after losing a majority decision to Justin Gaethje at UFC 286 in 2023.
There is a lot going against him — No training camp, cutting weight on short notice, the long travel from Asia — but he is convinced he’s good enough to pull this off.
“I believe I have more skills,” Fiziev said. “I have more skills in the striking. I have more weapons in the striking. I still believe [I can win] even though I didn’t have camp, I have to cut weight and I still have jet lag. Despite all this, I still 100 percent believe I have more skills, more weapons.
“If I do everything with a cold brain and use the eyes in my head, I can make it very beautiful and make it almost easy.”
Nothing is easy when you’re fighting Justin Gaethje. Nothing. Getting out of bed the morning of the fight is tough because you know what lies ahead.
Fiziev, though, has lived through it and come out OK on the other side.
With an unexpected second chance and a fully rehabbed knee, he believes he’ll be able to complete the fairytale.
As long as Fiziev remembers which of them is the highlight and avoids an all-out brawl, his dream bout may get its storybook ending.
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Justin Gaethje defeated Rafael Fiziev by majority decision in 2023.