Justin Gaethje Happy to See Rafael Fiziev ‘Drowning in His Blood’ at UFC 286

Justin Gaethje has a well-earned reputation as one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC.

He once again delivered in that regard in the UFC 286 co-main event, earning a $50,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus check for his majority decision triumph over Rafael Fiziev at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday. While the fight featured plenty of entertaining striking exchanges, it wasn’t necessarily the all-out slugfest that Gaethje has occasionally been involved with throughout his professional tenure. For that, “The Highlight” is grateful.

“I look pretty good, so I did a good job,” Gaethe said at the UFC 286 post-fight press conference. “The key is not to get hit, and I did a good job at that. I took a couple of shots. I say two or three to the head. I asked and prayed that neither of us sustained chronic injury.”

During his post-fight interview in the Octagon, Gaethje hinted that his time in the sport might be limited. While he hasn’t set an expiration date on his career, the former World Series of Fighting champion doesn’t want to be someone who stays past his welcome.

“It’s [retirement] not been in my mind. It’s the fact of the matter, I’m 34 years old,” Gaethje said. “I’m gonna take the fights that I need to take to get to the position that I want to be. There’s countless examples of reasons not to go longer than you should in this sport. I’ll probably refuse to do that.”

The triumph over Fiziev was a slow burn. The Tiger Muay Thai standout was quicker to the punch than Gaethje early in the fight, but that gradually changed as the bout progressed. By Round 3, Gaethje was battering his adversary with repeated jabs and uppercuts.

“He was one of the fastest [opponents I’ve faced], probably second to Michael Johnson. I was in such control of my emotions in there. I felt nothing,” Gaethje said. “He hit me really hard, probably in the first round with a big right hand, that one rocked me. But outside of that, I did such a good job at controlling the fight.”

By the time the fight concluded, Fiziev’s face was a bloody mask, a fact that wasn’t lost on Gaethje.

“My coach told me. I heard him saying, ‘Stay on the jab.’ Once I landed the first three, I couldn’t believe how clean I was landing,” Gaethje said. “There’s different kind of shots that you land in there. When you feel the full force of energy go in direct lines through their head, it’s a different shot. That’s what I was feeling.

“He wanted to taste my blood, but unfortunately he was drowning in his blood. I’m happy about that.”

In recent years, lightweight has been a division that is difficult to break into the upper echelon of the rankings because the weight class’ old guard has been so successful. Gaethje took a chance by facing a lower ranked foe, and now he has his sights set on one final championship run.

“I did what I had to do,” Gaethje said. “I fought someone below me, and I 100 percent believe that I deserve to fight someone ranked in front of me. The loser of the [Charles] Oliveira-[Beneil] Dariush fight. I rather not fight Dariush, I love that dude. I do believe he’s going to beat Oliveira. I fought like a complete idiot when I fought Oliveira, so I would love to have that fight back, but Dustin [Poirier] is as good of an option.”