Justin Gaethje to fight Rafael Fiziev after other UFC stars ‘said no’ in wake of Dan Hooker injury

Hooker fractured his hand, leading Fiziev to step in for a rematch with Gaethje

Justin Gaethje will take on Rafael Fiziev in a lightweight rematch at UFC 313, as the latter replaces the injured Dan Hooker.

For many MMA fans, Gaethje vs Hooker was one of the most-anticipated fights of 2025, originally scheduled for five rounds in the UFC 313 co-main event on 8 March. However, Hooker hinted last week that the bout had been shortened to three rounds, and this week he was forced to withdraw, revealing a fractured hand.

Fiziev was one of the first lightweights to offer his services as a replacement, along with Renato Moicano and Mateusz Gamrot, and the Azerbaijani got the nod. He will fight Gaethje two years after losing a narrow decision to the American in London.

“Arman [Tsarukyan] and Charles [Oliveira] understandably said no,” Gaethje claimed on X (formerly Twitter). “Max [Holloway] and Dustin [Poirier] 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 [an] elite striker. Life’s a trip. Best live show on earth going down March 8th #UFC313.”

Poirier dismissed the claim, however, tweeting: “I never got the call, I didn’t say no. I’m the one who reached out to them when I read the news. Ask Hunter [Campbell, UFC CBO], all respect to you and [Fiziev], looking forward to this one again.”

Justin Gaethje (left) narrowly outpointed Rafael Fiziev in 2023 (Getty Images)

Gaethje replied: “I was just running back the crazy 48 [hours] I went through. I was not trying to imply any of you guys would not fight me. Arman was too heavy, same with charles. UFC obviously has plans for you at a later date so they said that’s a no go.” Poirier responded: “All good bro!! Glad you got a opponent! Can’t wait to watch!!”

Each fighter listed by Gaethje would have an understandable reason for saying ‘no’, in any case, outside of the obvious threat posed by the heavy-handed “Highlight”.

Tsarukyan and Oliveira are expected to meet in a No 1 contender’s match this year, while Holloway fought Gaethje last April, dominating the American and knocking him out in the final second of their five-round fight. Meanwhile, Moicano fought on one day’s notice in January, suffering a submission loss to champion Islam Makhachev.

That said, one X user asked why Tsarukyan – who was replaced by Moicano in January – turned down the fight with Gaethje, to which the latter replied: “That’s a big weight cut on short notice.”

Gaethje avenged a 2018 loss to Poirier by knocking him out in 2023 (Getty Images)

Another user wrote, “If only fighters fought at their proper weight like you,” to which the 36-year-old said: “To be fair it takes me 8- 12 weeks to properly get my body prepared for the weight cut. I fight around 175[lb on fight night] like most lightweights. Hard to understand but that’s the way it goes.”

Gaethje’s last fight was his loss to Holloway. Prior to that defeat, he knocked out Poirier with a head kick in July 2023, avenging a 2018 loss and building on his decision win over Fiziev from March 2023. Since that loss to Gaethje, Fiziev has fought once, suffering an injury while losing to Gamrot in September 2023.

Gaethje is a former interim UFC lightweight champion who has twice failed to win undisputed gold. In 2020, he was submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov while trying to unify the belts, and in 2022, he was submitted by Oliveira while fighting for the vacant title.

Oliveira had been stripped of the belt one day earlier, after failing to make weight for his planned defence against Gaethje.