Rafael Fiziev vs Mateusz Gamrot scheduled for UFC Vegas 80

We’ve got a very exciting scrap of lightweight contenders to look forward to this Fall, as no. 6 ranked Rafael Fiziev (12-2) faces off with no. 7 ranked Mateusz Gamrot (22-2) at UFC Vegas 80.

UFC Vegas 80 is to go down on September 23, 2023, live from the UFC Apex in Enterprise, Nevada.

Each of these men came to the UFC as undefeated phenoms, and each of them have lost twice inside the promotion.

First we’ll begin with Kazakhstan native Rafael Fiziev:

A 39-8 national kickboxing champion and six-time world kickboxing champion, Rafael Fiziev came to the UFC in April of 2019 with a record of 6-0. Following defeat in his promotional debut to fellow knockout artist Magomed Mustafaev (TKO), Fiziev would rattle off six-straight victories over the likes of Alex White (UD), Marc Diakiese (UD), Renato Moicano (KO), Bobby Green (UD), fellow kickboxing champion Brad Riddell (TKO), and former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos (TKO).

This led up to his most recent performance, where he was defeated by no. 3 ranked Justin Gaethje (MD) in a fight many saw him winning.

Now let’s get into Polish standout Mateusz Gamrot:

Former two-division KSW champion Mateusz Gamrot on the other hand came to the UFC in October of 2020 with a record of 17-0, losing his promotional debut via split decision to Guram Kutateladze in a fight merely everyone scored for him.

For instance, Gamrot secured five takedowns across the three rounds they fought, he didn’t get taken down once, and he out-struck Kutateladze, another former kickboxer, 69-43 in total strikes and 52-37 in significant strikes.

Following this defeat however, Gamrot would win his next four-straight over the likes of Scott Holtzman (KO), Jeremy Stephens (kimura), Carlos Diego Ferreira (TKO), and no. 8 ranked Arman Tsarukyan (UD). His streak was stopped by no. 4 ranked Beneil Dariush last October, though he’d get back to his winning ways with a victory over the surging no. 12 ranked Jalin Turner (SD) earlier this year in March.

This is going to be a good one!

Who do you see coming out on top in this epic lightweight affair going down at UFC Vegas 80?

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Brady Ordway

I became a fan of combat sports when I was 12 years old. I was scrolling through the channels and landed upon Versus, where WEC was televised. Urijah Faber fought Jens Pulver for the second time that night. That's the first fight I ever saw, and I was immediately hooked. So eventually, I began covering the sport in the fourth quarter of 2018, and have since started writing about animals as well. If you'd like to see those pieces, be sure to check out learnaboutnature.com!

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