Justin Gaethje: Rafael Fiziev's leg kicks are 'faster, but not quite as heavy'

LONDON – In a battle between top strikers, Justin Gaethje plans on creating more damage than Rafael Fiziev.

Gaethje (23-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) meets Fiziev (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 286 co-main event at The O2 in London. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+.

Both men have proven fight-ending abilities on the feet, but Gaethje expects his strikes to be more impactful.

“They’re faster, but not quite as heavy,” Gaethje said on Fiziev’s leg kicks at Wednesday’s UFC 286 media day. “We’ll see how it works.

“(Fiziev is an) elite (striker). There’s no way around it. He’s got some crazy skills, especially to the untrained eye. This guy is the best of the best. I think I can take advantage of certain situations. I can create more damage in certain situations. I think I can control distance better, and I’m going to have to be perfect on Saturday.”

Gaethje is a former NCAA Division-I wrestler, but hasn’t resorted to his grappling in too many of his UFC fights. Although he’s facing a muay Thai specialist in Fiziev, he wouldn’t be surprised if the fight hit the mat.

“Just because he’s a muay Thai fighter doesn’t mean he might not try and take me down,” Gaethje said. “And if I do get to the ground, I’ve been working on getting up and working on a few submissions from the top. So you can’t ever look past somebody’s ability to take it to the ground, because we all in this sport have that ability.

“Any of us, as soon as we face adversity in something we thought we were going to be successful in, are going to move to a different option. I think I’m going to be better on the feet. I think I’m going to create more damage, create more angles, control more space, and yeah, I think he’ll find a position where he thinks that might be advantageous.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 286.