Still competing next weekend at UFC 311, Justin Gaethje will look to catapult himself into title contention against Islam Makhachev, with a victory against incoming former-foe, Rafael Fiziev.
Gaethje, who was first slated to co-headline next weekend’s pay-per-view card against the surging, Dan Hooker, saw the pairing fall to the wayside after the Kiwi striker fractured his left hand in the weeks ahead of the pairing.
And moving onto a fight with former opponent, Fiziev whom he initially defeated in a contentious majority decision win back at UFC 286, Gaethje admitted he would rather have taken on Arman Tsarukyan or ex-foe, Charles Oliveira first and foremost.