UFC star Justin Gaethje has revealed who was in the running to fight him on short notice at UFC 313.
As we know, Dan Hooker is out of his UFC 313 fight with Justin Gaethje as a result of a hand injury. Now, it’s been announced by the promotion that in his place, Rafael Fiziev will step up to the plate on short notice for an enticing rematch with ‘The Highlight’.
These two men fought previously, with Justin Gaethje picking up the win. Now, it’s all about seeing who can make the necessary adjustments to find success this time around. However, the bigger story beyond that is that a parade of other lightweights were lining up for the chance to meet Gaethje in the middle of the Octagon.
In the following tweet, Justin Gaethje provided some insight.
Arman and Charles understandably said no. Max and Dustin understandably said no. Moicano got the call and said no. Props to Fiziev for volunteering to fly across the world and take this fight. Big risk here for me taking this rematch against and elite striker. Life’s a trip. Best…
— Justin Gaethje
(@Justin_Gaethje) February 27, 2025
Justin Gaethje peels back the curtain
“Arman and Charles understandably said no. Max and Dustin understandably said no. Moicano got the call and said no. Props to Fiziev for volunteering to fly across the world and take this fight. Big risk here for me taking this rematch against and elite striker. Life’s a trip. Best live show on earth going down March 8th #UFC313”
Justin went on to clarify that the weight cut would’ve been too big for Tsarukyan on short notice. In addition, Dustin Poirier also took exception to the idea that he turned it down, noting that he never got the call – because Gaethje cleared things up and said that the UFC had already informed him that there are different plans in place for ‘The Diamond’ this summer.
Now, though, all that really matters is that we have an opponent, and we have a fight. Hopefully, the Hooker bout comes back around some day, but for now, we can all get excited about what’s to come next weekend.
