Justin Gaethje

Gaethje is returning to the cage for the first time since losing a lightweight title bout last May.

JUSTIN GAETHJE left Rafael Fiziev's face in a bloodied mess after winning their UFC 286 thriller on points.The lightweight brawlers lived up to expect.

Gaethje said: "I got my takedown, everyone can shut the f*** up now. JUSTIN GAETHJE left Rafael Fiziev's face a bloodied mess after winning their UFC 286 thriller on points. Justin Gaethje leaves Rafael Fiziev’s face a bloodied mess after winning UFC 286 thriller and eyes another title shot

Follow the UFC 286 live blog for Justin Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev, the lightweight co-main event on Saturday in London.

Fiziev hopes to make it two in a row against former champions and announce himself as a legitimate title threat at 155 pounds. No matter his struggles though, Gaethje remains the most exciting fighter in the sport, responsible for three Fights of the Year since joining the UFC in 2017. Rafael Fiziev](https://www.mmafighting.com/fight/13331/justin-gaethje-vs-rafael-fiziev), the lightweight co-main event on Saturday in London. [Renato Moicano](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/3144/renato-carneiro) and [Brad Riddell](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/5116/brad-riddell), Fiziev earned the biggest opportunity of his career, taking on former champion [Rafael dos Anjos](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/796/rafael-dos-anjos) in July, and “Ataman” showed out, winning by fifth-round knockout. With knockout wins over lightweight fixtures [Gaethje](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/1526/justin-gaethje) has struggled to build momentum in recent years, losing undisputed title shots against [Khabib Nurmagomedov](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/1480/khabib-nurmagomedov) and [Charles Oliveira](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/175/charles-oliveira), with only a win over [Michael Chandler](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/455/michael-chandler) in between.

Justin Gaethje picked up a massive win in the co-main event of UFC 286 from the O2 Arena in London, England, defeating Rafael Fiziev via majority decision.…

"Then, after that, there is Poirier that is in front of me, Oliveira in front of me who's going to fight Dariush, and the winner of that fight is going to fight for the title. A fight between the two makes sense, and everyone would be a winner. Now, The Diamond finds himself in a very similar situation. Still, Gaethje understands that his recent losses are going to keep him from a title shot in the immediate future. That loss made it two out of the last three for the always-exciting Gaethje. It was a much-needed bounce-back performance for the 34-year-old.

Gaethje (24-4), a former interim lightweight champion, has won six of his past eight fights, with the two losses coming in bouts for the UFC lightweight belt.

Fiziev (12-2) was riding a six-fight winning streak before Saturday's loss. The victory puts their rivalry 2-1 in favor of Edwards. The welterweight champion defeated [Kamaru Usman](http://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/3088812/kamaru-usman) by majority decision in the main event of UFC 286 in London on Saturday to complete a trilogy and earn bragging rights over the former pound-for-pound king.

'The Highlight' picked up a massive win over Rafael Fiziev at the O2 Arena in London after a bloody three round battle with the streaking lightweight contender.

Fiziev started to take over at the start of round two. He even won the UFC interim lightweight title by beating Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 in May 2020. Gaethje appeared to get the best of the early exchanges, at least in the eyes of the 20,00 fans in the O2 Arena, who began singing his name on several occasions in round one.

UFC 286: Edwards vs. Usman 3 took place March 18 at The 02 in London, England. Justin Gaethje (24-4) and Rafael Fiziev (12-2) clashed in a pivotal lightweight ...

Fiziev lands a body kick but Gaethje with a combo. Gaethje with a combo. Gaethje thudding a jab. And Gaethje lands a clubbing left as Fiziev steps in. He seems to be okay but Fiziev lands another knee and Gaethje might be hurt. Gaethje ducks his head right into a MONSTER knee and Gaethje is fine. And a low kick. Gaethje lands a good uppercut into a clinch. Exchange from the two and Gaethje lands a right hand but Fiziev lands two! Fiziev lands a mean knee. Justin Gaethje (24-4) and Rafael Fiziev (12-2) clashed in a pivotal lightweight contest in the night’s co-main event. Gaethje lands a thudding leg kick of his own.

Gaethje (24-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) snapped Fiziev's (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) winning streak by earning a majority decision win on Saturday. The lightweight bout was the UFC ...

I literally tried not to do that,” Gaethje said of the wild fight he'd just won.