Justin Gaethje gets new opponent for UFC 313 Co Main Event

UFC 313 has a new Co Main event as Justin Gaethje has accepted a rematch with striking sensation Rafael Fiziev.  Originally scheduled to face lightweight standout Dan Hooker in a 5 round Co Main event bout, Hooker unfortunately injured his left hand which forced him to withdrawal from the March 9th fight inside the TMobile arena in Las Vegas.

UFC 313 will be headlined by Alex Pereira against Magomed Ankalaev.  The new Co Main event of Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev will now be 3 rounds of action instead of the originally scheduled 5 rounds for Gaethje and Hooker.  With the short notice and the international flight, 3 rounds made the most sense.

Fiziev lost a decision to Gaethje back at UFC 286 in 2023.  Gaethje is coming off a 5th round KO loss to Max Holloway at UFC 300 where Max walked away with the “BMF” belt.   Having fought twice for the UFC Lightweight title, Gaethje is a fan favorite with wins voer big names such as Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler, Tony Ferguson, Donald Cerrone, and Edson Barbosa.

Other fights at UFC 313 include Jalin Turner X Ignacio Bahamondes, Amanda Lemos X Iasmin Lucindo, Bobby Green X Mauricio Ruffy, Curtis Blaydes X Rizvan Kuniev, Bruno Ferreira X Armen Petrosyan, Alex Morono X Carlos Leal Miranda, Joshua Van X Rei Tsuruya, Mairon Santos X Francis Marshall, Djorden Ribeiro Dos Santos X Osman Diaz, and Chris Gutierrez X TBA.