A recurring injury is what led to Rafael Fiziev’s withdrawal from UFC Fight Night 261.
Fiziev (13-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) was forced out of his Oct. 11 headliner against Charles Oliveira (35-11 MMA, 23-11 UFC) at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro (ESPN+). Replacing Fiziev is former opponent Mateusz Gamrot (25-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC), who defeated him after he injured his knee in a TKO loss in September 2023. That injury required surgery and sidelined him for almost 18 months, but Fiziev said this time he should be able to avoid going under the knife.
“Many people are asking me what happened with me, why I’m out from the fight,” Fiziev said on his Instagram story (h/t Red Corner MMA). “I injured my knee again, but Alhamdulillah, no need to do surgery. But I cannot push 100 percent. I cannot work, cannot wrestle, cannot spar, and I have to heal up right now.
“A couple of months, and I come back 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 go with my injured knee right now to fight, so it’s a big risk. Third surgery in the same knee? That’s not good. I have to heal up, guys.”
Fiziev lost in his comeback fight against Justin Gaethje at UFC 313 in March but was able to snap a three-fight losing skid by defeating Ignacio Bahamondes at UFC on ABC 8 in June.
