The UFC is close to finalizing an absolute banger in the lightweight division. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to report earlier this evening that the promotion is closing in on Justin Gaethje (23-4) – Rafael Fiziev (12-1) for their London PPV in March.
UFC 286 goes down on March 18th and it looks like this lightweight banger is going to be a featured bout. This is by far the biggest fight and test for Rafael Fiziev. In his last bout, he had a Fight Night main event against former lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos.
After a very competitive fight, Fiziev scored a fifth round knockout against RDA. Fiziev lost his UFC debut, but he’s been perfect since then. He’s gone a perfect 6-0 and he’s stepped up the competition along the way and now he’s taking on one of the elites at 155 pounds.
UFC 286
March will mark the return of Justin Gaethje. The last time we saw “The Highlight” was last May at UFC 274 when he took on Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title. After dropping Oliveira in the first round, he got dropped and then submitted by the former lightweight champion.
Since late 2018, Gaethje has gone 5-2 inside the octagon. The only two men who have defeated him are Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira. He’s clearly one of the very best in the world and he’s getting prepared for one more run up to the UFC lightweight title.