Rafael Fiziev has revealed the reason why he was forced out of his main event fight at UFC Rio against Charles Oliveira.
Fiziev was set to fight Oliveira on October 11th in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and it was considered a massive opportunity for “Ataman” to jump back into lightweight contendership after spending all of 2024 out with a torn ACL. But the injury bug has bit him again, striking the same knee he’s had multiple problems with.
“Many people are asking me what happened with me, why I’m out of
the fight,” Fiziev said in a new video on social media. “I injured my knee again. But Alhamdulillah, there’s no need to do the surgery. But I cannot push 100%, I cannot work, cannot wrestle, cannot sparring, and … I have to heal up right now. Couple of months. Then come back to fight.”
“I wished to fight in Brazil, this is my dream fight,” he added. “But I already have a couple of surgeries on my knee, and it’s a big risk to go in with my knee, my injured knee right now, to fight. It’s a big risk. Third surgery on the same knee? That’s not good. I have to heal up, guys.”
Fiziev started off strong in the UFC, going 6-1 over his first seven fights. Two defeats against Justin Gaethje and a loss to Mateusz Gamrot where he blew his knee out in the cage killed that momentum, but a strong win over Ignacio Bahamondes in the co-main event of UFC Baku signaled a return to form for the Azerbaijani fighter.
That return will now be delayed as “Ataman” takes extra precautions to avoid another full-blown knee injury that could take him out another year or even potentially end his ability to compete at the top level of the sport.
As for Charles Oliveira, he’ll now face Mateusz Gamrot in the new main event of UFC Rio.
