Justin Gaethje will be happy to get back in the fire next weekend at UFC 313 when he takes on short-notice replacement Rafael Fiziev in the co-main event LIVE on ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It will be Gaethje’s first Octagon appearance since suffering a legendary knockout loss at the hands of Max Holloway back at UFC 300 in April of 2024.
Earlier this week, Gaethje learned that his original opponent, Dan Hooker, would not be able to fight at UFC 313. Multiple lightweights called for the chance to fill in against “Highlight” to help save the card, but UFC matchmakers settled on Fiziev. It’s a rematch from UFC 286 back in Mar. 2023, which saw Gaethje defeat “Ataman” by majority decision.
Despite the last-second opponent change and coming back after nearly a full year away from fighting, Gaethje can’t wait to get back into the cage. He’s hoping to prove he’s still one of the best lightweights in the world after a massive knockout loss his last time out. Gaethje is looking to follow the same blueprint that Pereira did after getting knocked out by Israel Adesanya in 2023 and then winning five fights in a row.
“I’ve had 20 knockouts out of my 25 wins,” said Gaethje during a recent appearance on The Jim Rome Show. “It comes with the territory and we have seen different people go different ways. We saw Alex Pereira getting knocked out cold like I did, come back and he’s been on a tear.
“I’m excited. I’m excited to be scared again. I think that’s something that kind of goes away as you get older and wiser. You think you know everything and you kind of forget the most important thing that this is so dangerous and whenever the danger is not real, I think your body doesn’t do what it needs to do in these situations, and being that this is going to be a very scary fight I know that I’m going to go to a very primal place and all the adrenaline is going to be rushing through my veins and I’m excited about that. That’s a special feeling.”
As for is unexpected rematch with Fiziev goes, Gaethje didn’t really care who he was going to fight for his return at UFC 313. The one thing “Highlight” cares about most is getting one final crack at the UFC lightweight title — currently owned by Islam Makhachev — and Gaethje believes a win over Fiziev next weekend could get him there.
“It really doesn’t matter who it is,” Gaethje said. “Timing is everything in this sport. We saw with Dustin Poirier, I beat him and then he fought for the belt right after that, and I think the timing is going to line up well. I go in there and get a finish with an outstanding performance like I always do, I think I’ll be one of the guys that they consider to fight Makachev.”
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