Rafael Fiziev got the news he didn’t want to hear after an injury ended his fight against Mateusz Gamrot in the UFC Vegas 79 main event.
On Monday, Fiziev posted a brief update on Instagram while revealing that he suffered a torn ACL in his knee, which will require surgery and a lengthy recovery time afterwards. Typically, ACL injuries like that will put an athlete out of action for anywhere between nine months to one year depending on rehabilitation.
“I will be back,” Fiziev said in the video. “I’m just sad because I had a very great camp, and I was ready to show my best skills. And I’m sad because it happened only in the second round.
“I can get ready for a loss like that but I’m more than happy, 100 times more happy if it happens in the last round. But I believe I could show in this fight very nice skills. We have plans, but God has different plans. His plan is always the best.”
The injury occurred in the second round when Fiziev threw a kick that was blocked but then he fell to the ground in agonizing pain with the fight stopped just seconds later. Replays showed that the leg Fiziev planted to throw the kick twisted and his knee shifted as Gamrot played defense.
It was suspected that Fiziev suffered some sort of a knee injury as a result and a torn ACL was probably the worst-case scenario for the lightweight contender.
Fiziev ultimately lost the fight by second-round TKO but the injury was obviously the more important as he was helped out of the octagon by his team before being transported to a local Las Vegas hospital for treatment.
Less than 48 hours later, Fiziev got his diagnosis, which means he will have to wait until mid-to-late 2024 before making his return to the UFC.