Rafael Fiziev believes it might be time for a change.
Despite his best efforts on short notice, Fiziev’s return from a two-year layoff at UFC 313 this past weekend didn’t go his way. Tasked with rematching Justin Gaethje, the duo again brought the house down in Las Vegas to earn Fight of the Night honors, with Fiziev ultimately ending up on the wrong end of the unanimous decision. Fiziev previously lost a majority decision to Gaethje in 2023.
Fiziev, 32, quickly rose to prominence as one of the lightweight division’s best strikers when he arrived in the UFC in 2019, however his latest setback now has him second-guessing his future in the weight class.
“I’m starting to think right now about changing weight divisions because I really cut weight very easy this time, and this was short notice,” Fiziev explained Tuesday on Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show.”
“Very easy, bro. All this week, my nutritionist Jason, he tried to [help me] gain my weight because my weight [got] low so fast. And right now, I have to think maybe about it.”
Fiziev further noted that it’s a “strong possibility” his next fight comes at featherweight and that he’s been thinking about moving down in weight for a “long time, because I am not big in this division.”
A move down to featherweight would certainly be a way to shake things up for Fiziev. He claimed to wake up at 161 pounds on UFC 313 fight day — only four pounds above the lightweight limit.
Although this was Fiziev’s second encounter with Gaethje, he felt the size difference more than he did in their previous fight in March 2023.
“He was big guy. When I kick him, I feel like I kick him with my fingers,” Fiziev said.
“I want to fight with top guys. These [featherweight] guys are very interesting. All of them, these guys in top 10. These guys have trouble if I come there. They’ll be in trouble, man. Everybody.”
Since the first Gaethje fight, it’s been tough sledding for Fiziev. He lost via second-round TKO to Mateusz Gamrot in late 2023 after tearing his ACL, which sidelined him until UFC 313. In total, Fiziev hasn’t had his hand raised since July 2022, when he scored a vicious knockout of former champion Rafael dos Anjos.
Fiziev recalled being initially saddened by this latest outcome but turned it into a positive when he realized the Gaethje rematch was an enjoyable fight for the fans. He had momentum on his side at the start of the matchup, winning Round 1 unanimously on the judges’ scorecards, however all it took was one seismic uppercut from Gaethje toward the end of the second round to change everything.
“This uppercut changed all this fight,” Fiziev said. “Honestly, this uppercut was like, ‘Whoa.’ And when I stood up from this uppercut in the second round, I was in, like, Disneyland. Everything like this [was going] on [in] my head. I didn’t know how I stayed [in the fight]. And when I was going to sit [in the corner] before Round 3, I’m sitting and still in Disneyland. And, like, Round 3, in the beginning of the round, maybe the first two minutes or one-and-half minutes, it was also in Disneyland.
“All my life, I’m thinking, like, ‘Oh, if somebody punch me so hard they’re going to knock down, can I stand up? Can I stand up and continue the fight or not?’ Always, all my life I’m thinking about that — and this is first time I [had it happen]. I stand up and I finish the fight, OK.”
Outside of the Gamrot loss via injury, Fiziev has only lost one other time via stoppage — his UFC debut against Magomed Mustafaev.
Formerly competing in Muay Thai, “Ataman” isn’t a stranger to high activity levels or competing on days’ notice. The difference this time was the addition of his long layoff.
Yet despite the hurdles, Fiziev soaked in the moment more than he ever has.
“Cardio is not too good because it’s short notice,” Fiziev said. “I [was] not prepared for the fight, but mentally, when I go into the fight, man, [it was the] first time in my life I smile so much before fight. I have like 250 fights in my career, almost 300 maybe. I never smile. Never. This time, I go smile, I’m relaxing. I know a lot of fans going to love this fight.
“These two years I [had] no fight, I [didn’t get to feel this] happen, you know? It’s so good, but I am sad because I lost. I want to win. I do all my best on this fight, but still, I feel so good during the fight.”
