Justin Gaethje, the former interim UFC lightweight champion, has a plethora of opponent options at his disposal should he wish to remain on next month’s pay-per-view card. Unfortunately, the injury curse has struck again, with Dan Hooker revealing a broken hand has forced him to withdraw from UFC 313 on March 8. The highly anticipated bout between “The Hangman” and Gaethje was tipped to be a Fight of the Year contender in 2025. As it stands, the promotion’s plans for “The Highlight” remain unclear, and it’s uncertain whether the Hooker bout will be rescheduled for a later date. However, should Gaethje remain on the lineup for the upcoming PPV at T-Mobile Arena, several potential replacement opponents have thrown their hats into the ring. Rafael Fiziev, a familiar foe of Gaethje’s, was the first to volunteer, having previously been defeated by the American in London in 2023.
Ataman’s competitive hiatus has stretched to 17 months, following a severe ACL injury sustained in his bout against Matezus Gamrot.
https://x.com/RafaelFiziev/status/1894321124072460672?t=uZbqLgWpKY9Fa8Y26Vmovg&s=19
But Fiziev is not alone in his willingness to accept the short-notice assignment, with Renato Moicano and Mateusz Gamrot, both highly-ranked contenders, having come forward to express their interest in stepping in and facing Gaethje
Moicano is no novice when it comes to short-notice bouts, having stepped in on just 24 hours’ notice to challenge Islam Makhachev’s title last month, albeit ultimately coming up short. Meanwhile, “Gamer” presented a compelling case for his callout of Gaethje, astutely pointing out that the former interim champion’s original opponent, Dan Hooker had only narrowly edged him out on the scorecards at UFC 305 last August.
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