Mateusz
Gamrot and Rafael
Fiziev headlined
UFC Fight Night 228 on Saturday in a highly-anticipated clash
of lightweight contenders.
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After mostly feeling each other out in the opening frame, Fiziev
dropped to the ground in agony after throwing a right kick which
was blocked by Gamrot. As a result, “Gamer” was awarded the
technical knockout victory due to injury.
Replay revealed that it was Fiziev’s left knee which gruesomely
popped while throwing the kick, bringing the fight to an
anticlimactic end early in Round 2. While it definitely isn’t the
victory he had imagined, Gamrot noted that he made a conscious
effort to defend Fiziev’s kicks.
“Of course, this was not what I would like,” Gamrot said in his
post-fight interview. “To be honest, when I prepared for this
fight, my goal was that my defense would be stronger than his kick.
I prepared very good defense in my gym. I wish a quick recovery for
Rafael. A win is a win. I win tonight. I’m looking forward to the
next one.”
Regardless of the method of victory, Gamrot already has his eyes on
a higher-ranked opponent. While winning UFC gold remains the
eventual goal, Gamrot is plotting a clash against former champ
Charles
Oliveira next.
“This is not what I want winning this fight. I’m looking forward to
next year to fight,” he said. “My dream fight, of course, is the
champion Islam
Makhachev, but this is not now. But my next fight I would like
to challenge myself to the most dangerous fighter on the ground,
Charles Oliveira. I would like to fight this guy.”
Oliveira is scheduled to face Makhachev in a lightweight title
rematch at UFC 294 on Oct. 21.