Written by LAS VEGAS – Rafael Fiziev opened up on the biggest takeaways from his first Justin Gaethje fight.
Fiziev (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) runs things back with Gaethje (25-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 313 co-main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPNews/Disney+, ESPN+). He hasn’t competed since tearing his ACL in a TKO loss to Mateusz Gamrot in September 2023.
Fiziev lost their first fight at UFC 286 by majority decision.
“I think I learned from the first fight I don’t have to follow emotions. I don’t have to follow my character,” Fiziev told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a news conference Wednesday. “Sometimes you have to forget about your character and stay cold, follow game plan.”
The Tiger Muay Thai fighter admits he got lured into trying to brawl after hearing the crowd’s reaction, which swayed him from his game plan.
“It’s my decision. It’s my decisions during the fight because, like I said, I followed my emotions,” Fiziev added. “I heard the arena. I heard how people were screaming when we had some action.
“I heard my corners. They were saying, ‘Hey, move, step back – no need to go forward much,’ but inside I’m thinking, ‘No guys, look: The arena is going crazy, it’s a bonus and I want the arena screaming more.’ That’s what I was thinking in the fight.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 313.