Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev Produce Instant Classic at UFC 286

Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev Produce Instant Classic at UFC 286

Byron Pillay
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:28 PM
  • Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev both landed heavy shots on each other as they tried to finish the fight early
  • Gaethje declared himself as the most entertaining fighter of all time and he proved that against Fiziev
  • After three rounds of insane hard-hitting action, the judges were called in to decide the winner of the fight

The fight between the two lightweights promised to be a banger, and it lived up to its billing.

Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev traded some big shots in the first round, as both men looked to end it early.

The Azerbaijani fighter used his speed to keep the American on his toes, but Gaethje countered with some of his own quick punches.

Justin Gaethje, Rafael Fiziev, Sport, World, MMA, UFC, Lightweight, London
Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev were involved in a hard hitting fight which had to be decided on the judges scorecards. Image: Catherine Ivill/ Jeff Bottari
Source: Getty Images

Round 2

The second round started where the first round left off. Both fighters continued to empty the gas tanks in search of a winner. The big shots took its toll on Fiziev as he suffered a few cuts to his face from the onslaught.

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While Gaethje didn't bear as many signs of being in a war, he definitely felt it as Fiziev landed a lot of big shots.

Round 3

He started the third round with incredible shots, a few of them seemingly rattled Gaethje. The American proved to have a jaw of steel as he stood and took the shots and came back for more.

Gaethje then found his range and started landing the big blows, beating up Fiziev and leaving him bloodied.

The fight went to the judges' scorecards and they scored it 29-28, 29-28, 28-28, with Gaethje picking up the unanimous victory.

Gaethje to take on Fiziev

Justin Gaethje grabbed the headlines when he declared himself 'the most exciting fighter of all time'.

The No. 3 lightweight contender has received a performance bonus from the UFC in eight of his ten fights, Sports Brief previously reported.

The Highlight will look to earn another bonus this coming Saturday when he squares off with the surging Rafael Fiziev. Fiziev has won his last six fights to become the No. 6 contender in the lightweight division.

Authors
Byron Pillay photo
Byron Pillay
Byron Pillay is a sports writer and Head of the Department at Sports Brief (joined in 2022) with over 10 years of experience in community journalism and a degree in journalism from Caxton's Cadet School.
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