UFC fighter Rafael Fiziev gives his knee injury as his reason for pulling out of UFC RIO bout.
The fighter was slated to meet Charles Oliveira at the lightweight division but he had to withdraw and was later replaced with Mauteusz Gamrot. Following hos withdrawal, Fiziev shared an online update on his injury and his road to recovery.
“Many people asking what happened with me, why I’m out from the fight,” Fiziev said. “I injured my knee again. Alhamdulillah, no need to do surgery, but I cannot push 100 percent. I cannot work. Cannot wrestle, cannot spar. I have to heal up right now. A couple of months, I come back to the fight. I wish to fight in Brazil, this is my dream fight, but I already have a couple of surgeries in my knee and it’s a big risk to go in with my injured knee right now to fight.
“I wish to fight in Brazil, this is my dream fight, but I already had a couple of surgeries on my knee, and It’s a big risk to have a third injury on the same knee. That’s not good. I have to heal up, guys.”
Fiziev, 32, first injured his left knee in a fight with Gamrot in September 2023. Their UFC Vegas 79 headlining bout ended abruptly in the second round when Fiziev fell clutching his knee. It was later revealed he had torn his ACL. The injury kept Fiziev on the sidelines for 18 months until his return at UFC 313, where he lost a unanimous decision to Justin Gaethje.
