Rafael Fiziev aims to return to UFC octagon "before New Year's" after suffering back-to-back losses 

Rafael Fiziev recently provided an update to his fans regarding his octagon return as he aims to snap his losing skid.

The No.8 ranked lightweight has been an exciting fighter to watch as he has earned six post-fight bonuses in nine UFC bouts. He is coming off back-to-back losses to Justin Gaethje and Mateusz Gamrot and has yet to compete this year.

Fiziev looked to be surging up the lightweight rankings prior to the setback as he was riding a six-fight winning streak that included wins over Renato Moicano, Bobby Green and former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos.

While speaking to Cesar Alonso Fight's YouTube channel, the 31-year-old outlined a timeline for when fans can expect to see him return and which fighters would interest him. He said:

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"Before New Year's, I want to come back, before [the end] of this year. And, fight against somebody. I don't think about numbers, ranking. If they give me some debut guy, doesn't matter...I believe my power, a hundred percent. I'm ready for [a] fight [with] everybody [in the] top-15. So, anyone wanna fight me, I'm ready."

Check out Rafael Fiziev's comments regarding his UFC return below:

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When did Rafael Fiziev last compete in the UFC octagon?

Rafael Fiziev has been out of action for quite some time as he last competed against Mateusz Gamrot in the main event of UFC Vegas 79 last September.

The fight didn't go as he hoped as he unfortunately suffered an injury in the second round and was unable to continue. As a result, Gamrot was awarded with a second-round TKO win.

In the days that followed, Fiziev shared an update to his fans that he had suffered a torn ACL. Based on the recent bout announcements for upcoming UFC events, the 31-year-old will likely be out of action for approximately a full year when he eventually returns to the octagon.

Check out Rafael Fiziev's injury update following his loss to Mateusz Gamrot below:

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