Gaethje def. Fiziev
Decision (unanimous) · Round 3 · 5:00
Gaethje vs Fiziev — Lightweight Bout · UFC 313
What happened
Justin Gaethje went 2-0 in the series against a short-notice Rafael Fiziev, who took the rematch on roughly 12 days' notice. Fiziev started fast and kept the early exchanges competitive, but Gaethje found his rhythm in the second — including a knockdown and a sharp uppercut — and pulled away over the back half.
- Fiziev's early stance switches and Muay Thai kicks kept the opening competitive after stepping in on short notice.
- Gaethje's pressure and a second-round knockdown, plus a key uppercut, swung the momentum for the rest of the fight.
- 29–28
- 29–28
- 29–28
Watch
The full fight.
More videos · 2 clips
Signature moments
Signature moments
Analysts
No verified pre-fight analyst picks are logged for this historical bout.
Track record rows appear only when a timestamped source has been reviewed.
Archive
Pre-fight material — kept for transparency, folded by default.
Tale of the Tape
Records & career stats — as they entered fight night
- 6.29 4.71
- 50% 50%
- 6.83 4.81
- 73% 90%
- 78% 64%
- 26-5-0
- Record
- 12-4-0
- 4-1 last 5
- Recent formRecent formWin–loss record over the fighter’s last five bouts, newest first, as carried in their UFC/FightMetric career stats.
- 2-3 last 5
- Orthodox
- StanceStanceWhich side a fighter leads from — a striking term, not a religious one. Orthodox: right-handed, left foot and hand forward (the common default). Southpaw: the mirror image, right side forward (usually a left-hander). Switch: changes between the two during a fight.
- Switch
- 12:09
- Avg. fight timeAvg. timeAverage fight timeThe mean length of the fighter’s bouts (minutes:seconds) — a rough read on whether they tend to finish early or go the distance. From UFC/FightMetric.
- 11:32
- USA
- Nationality
- Azerbaijan
- Elevation Fight Team · Denver
- Team
- Tiger Muay Thai · Phuket
Career stats per UFC.com; recent form is each fighter's last five bouts. Numbers reflect records coming into fight night. Bars compare each stat on a fixed scale; the “Edge” marker flags the leading corner where the gap is meaningful. The snapshot plots five career rates — output, striking defense, durability (strikes absorbed, inverted), takedown defense and finish rate — each normalised on its own scale.
Pre-fight analysis — how we saw it going in
Case for Gaethje
Gaethje entered the rematch with the deeper five-round experience, the heavier late-fight optics and a proven ability to win exchanges even when absorbing damage. His path was to survive Fiziev’s early speed, build behind pressure and turn the final two rounds into a durability test.
Case for Fiziev
Fiziev remained the cleaner technician in tight spaces, with knees, kicks and fast counters that could punish Gaethje’s forward march. Taking the fight on short notice made efficiency critical: bank early rounds, damage the legs and keep Gaethje from snowballing late.
What We Were Watching For
- Whether Fiziev’s early speed could bank enough offense before Gaethje adjusted.
- Gaethje’s right hand as the fight settled into repeated pocket exchanges.
- Short-notice conditioning for Fiziev against Gaethje’s late pressure.
Fighters
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