Gaethje: UFC will 'have to consider me' for title shot if I beat Fiziev

Justin Gaethje believes an "outstanding performance" against Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313 will put him in the running for the next title shot against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.

Gaethje accepted Fiziev as a short-notice replacement earlier this week after Dan Hooker withdrew from the original March 8 co-main event due to a hand injury.

Though Gaethje is ranked below Arman Tsarukyan and Charles Oliveira in the division at No. 3, he thinks the stars could align for him to jump the queue and face Makhachev next.

"Timing is everything in this sport," Gaethje said Thursday on "The Jim Rome Show." "We saw with Dustin Poirier, I beat him and then he fought for the belt right after that. I think the timing is gonna line up well."

He continued, "With Charles already losing to (Makhachev) twice, him being ahead of me. Tsarukyan having his chance and pulling out the day of the fight or the night before, it's definitely detrimental to his chances. (Featherweight champion Ilia) Topuria coming up, and Makhachev saying he needs to fight somebody else first. There's really not a lot of guys. And so with a huge win here, and certainly a finish, I think they're gonna have to consider me. I've never fought (Makhachev), and that's what we're looking for."

Gaethje, the former interim lightweight champion and ex-BMF titleholder, is returning to the Octagon for the first time since a knockout loss to Max Holloway at UFC 300 last April.

The fight with Fiziev will be a rematch of a thrilling March 2023 bout that Gaethje won via majority decision.

Gaethje, who's 2-2 in his last four Octagon appearances, has twice challenged for the 155-pound title: against Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2020 and against Oliveira in 2022. The 36-year-old lost both fights by submission.

UFC 313 is scheduled for T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between champion Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev.