On October 11, a major UFC tournament will take place in Rio de Janeiro, with the main event featuring former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira and 10th-ranked Rafael Fiziev. For the Azerbaijani representative, the upcoming bout is a chance to get very close to a title shot, something that not long ago seemed nearly impossible in his career trajectory.
Idman.biz, citing Sport24.ru, reports that Rafael Fiziev in 2022 was ranked 7th in the lightweight division, riding a six-fight winning streak, earning multiple bonuses for exciting performances, and holding great prospects. By April 2025, however, he had dropped out of the top 10 after three consecutive losses and had only recently returned to action following a year-and-a-half-long recovery from a serious injury. One could say Fiziev's downward spiral began in the spring of 2023, when he lost by decision to Justin Gaethje in a title eliminator bout, but that wouldn’t be entirely accurate.
In that fight, Fiziev faced a true UFC star and former interim champion, and a win could have secured him a title shot. Although luck wasn’t on his side, that loss didn’t knock him far down the division’s rankings. It was the next defeat that hit harder. In September of the same year, Fiziev fought Mateusz Gamrot and lost early, not because of Gamrot’s dominance, but due to a severe knee ligament injury sustained by Fiziev.
He spent a long time recovering from a torn ACL and only returned to action in March 2025. The UFC gave him a chance to replace the injured Dan Hooker in a rematch with his old foe, Justin Gaethje, and Fiziev accepted. The two went at it for three tough rounds, and the outcome mirrored their first encounter. Fiziev started strong, but as the fight progressed, Gaethje took control and won by decision.
It seemed like these setbacks would permanently remove Fiziev from the title picture. However, in June this year, he managed to turn things around. At the UFC event in Baku on June 21, Fiziev faced young, promising prospect Ignacio Bahamondes. It felt like Fiziev was being served up to help elevate the rising talent in the rankings. But Rafael didn’t let his opponent shine and confidently outstruck him over three rounds.
Now, news has emerged that Fiziev will fight Charles Oliveira on October 11 in Brazil. This is a tremendous opportunity for Fiziev to break into the top tier of the division and instantly become one of the top contenders for a title shot in the near future. It's hard to say why the UFC chose Fiziev as Oliveira’s opponent for his home-turf fight, and there’s no point speculating. What matters is that Rafael is getting the chance to fight one of the biggest UFC stars of recent years, a kind of payback from fate for his past misfortunes.
We last saw Oliveira in action on June 28, 2025, at UFC 317, where he fought Ilia Topuria for the lightweight title and was knocked out by the Georgian in the first round. This outcome likely suggests that Oliveira is not in the best form right now, and at 35 years old, it's unlikely he's still at his physical peak. Nevertheless, it’s important to note that Charles is one of the greatest lightweights in UFC history. The Brazilian was champion for over a year and was riding an 11-fight win streak at the time, defeating top-tier fighters like Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje, Michael Chandler, Tony Ferguson, and others.
In the fall of 2022, Oliveira lost to Islam Makhachev in a title fight, and that marked the beginning of his decline. Since then, he has had four fights and lost two of them, including the aforementioned loss to Topuria. Still, Oliveira currently sits at 4th in the rankings and remains considered one of the strongest lightweights in the world.
Idman.biz
