3 fighters to save UFC 313 fight against Justin Gaethje after Dan Hooker injury

3 fighters that can save UFC 313 PPV co-headliner spot vs. Justin Gaethje, after Dan Hooker has pulled out due to injury.

3 fighters to save UFC 313 fight against Justin Gaethje after Dan Hooker injury

UFC process and matchmakers could be on hard search for top 3 fighters for UFC 313 vs. Justin Gaethje (Source: X/IMAGO)

Just like that UFC 313 PPV’s five-round lightweight co-main event, March 8 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas is a dud! ‘Hangman’ Dan Hooker was to meet ‘The Highlight’ Justin Gaethje for it. Now that he isn’t, it’s time to scramble for the 3 best options for fighters who can save the segment.

Popular Aussie MMA journo Benny P (@Bendaman2001) first broke the news. Dan Hooker, seated beside his daughter, informed in a video that he has been busy in pre-fight camp for UFC 313. Unfortunately, per the CityKickboxing NZ man, Daddy Dan ‘busted his paws’. Hooker’s telltale heartbreak followed by his showing of a swelling on his hand indicative of said break. There’s no telling the extent of the damage.

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Hooker, now at 24-12 MMA, 14-8 UFC, has already been in a couple of nail-biting, high-octane, bloody scrappers against Paul Felder, veteran Dustin Poirier, and recently even Jalin Turner. It was during the frame of fighting Turner that, pre-op, Dan Hooker said that he had unfused bone injuries to heal off. Kind of on the stem of welterweight Kamaru Usman’s alleged glass knees, hand injuries are Hangman’s Achilles’ heel.

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There’s no guarantee what happens yet. Does UFC brass keep Justin Gaethje on for the Las Vegas pay-per-view card? Will the human “Highlight” find a new opponent and get to rebound from his UFC 300 PPV KO loss? If so – here are the top 3 fighters and options for consideration.

3 fighters to save UFC 313 fight against Justin Gaethje after Dan Hooker injury

It’s still a considerable number of days out from UFC 313 PPV. So there’s time to replace the Gaethje vs. Hooker match-up with someone else. The 155 limit is convoluted and even overpopulated with talents. However, it’d be cautionary to mention to temper expectations for another such 155 striker-versus-hard-chin-striker barnburner pairing. Dan Hooker himself was expecting a post-fight hospital visit after this. Having said that though, here are the top candidates:

3. Renato Moicano

Renato Moicano could not bank on his quick fix at UFC 311. Longtime retaining UFC 155-pound champ Islam Makhachev made quick work of ‘Money’ Moicano, defeating him via submission (D’arce choke) – Round 1, at around the 4:05 mark of the event headliner. Up-to-the-minute at the UFC 311 PPV headliner spot, Moicano was almost holding his own though.

Renato Moicano has already called dibs as the first of 3 fighters for UFC 313
Renato Moicano has already called dibs as the first of 3 fighters for UFC 313 (Source: heavy.com/X)

Moicano – who took the fight on one day’s notice – briefly even looked like he’d find success in range. The Team American Top Team (Florida) fighter is scouting “Money” and opportunity in yet another impromptu match vs. Justin Gaethje. He hopped onto his socials to say as much.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and Orthodox/muay Thai fighter touts 2 KO highlights/10 submissions with 4 first-round finishes. Moicano’s accurate off-the-counter pressure and volleys of some solid shot selections/uppercuts have been costly to rivals. A +/- 3-1 against UFC-roster southpaws, he can go toe to toe with Gaethje.

While Elevation Fight Team’s Gaethje is anti-wrestling as his striking fanfare just pays more, he is known to mix it up. As is Moicano, always looking to jump the back; he even has 10 wins in the way of rear-naked chokes! Safe to say, this could be an interesting one for both. Time to prop some on the money line for “Money”.

2. Rafael Fiziev

Lightweight standout Rafael Fiziev has also come out of the woodwork to douse a challenge. Fiziev, with stats of 12-2 MMA, and 6-2 UFC, has been out of action since his ACL tear. He suffered the injury in a second-round TKO loss to Mateusz Gamrot in the headliner of UFC Fight Night 228 in September 2023. Right before that though, he suffered a majority decision skid against Justin Gaethje at UFC 286: Edwards vs. Usman 3.

Justin Gaethje gets a rematch offer for UFC 313
Justin Gaethje gets a rematch offer for UFC 313 (Source: superlutas.com.br)

Now, from one co-headliner affair to another, Fiziev wants to run it back. In his YouTube segment (‘DAY IN THE LIFE – 8 Weeks Out From My Next Fight’; @justin_gaethje) Gaethje has been hard at it for two months. When speculating initially on the Hooker fighter, he also said that nothing was confirmed and anything could happen. As it is, “The Highlight” was prepping for all the challenges out there. This could be quite the match.

More so because there’s already bad blood. Fiziev bills Gaethje ran from him for two whole rounds, circling the periphery. Per his accounts, the fighter could only rally to his striking after a poke in his right eye. Gaethje mocked the brain scramble made him confuse which eye it was.

1. Arman Tsarukyan

This one’s a bit of a ‘No pain, No gain’ big stretch area and the best option out of all 3 fighters. Arman Tsarukyan went back to the drawing board after pulling out. “Ahalkalakets” accepted those terms and wanted to work his way up to challenging Makhachev again. However, the shortest distance between two points might be a good one here.

Justin Gaethje could very well be in a top contender matchup at UFC 313 PPV
Justin Gaethje could very well be in a top contender matchup at UFC 313 PPV (Source: X/antena3.com)

Gaethje’s losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov, Charles Oliveira, and Max Holloway have left him 3-3 in his last six title outings. Two of those though, were (legit) title losses feat. the BMF silver, thus ranking the contender as #3 in the lightweight rankings. A #No. 6 hot shot at 155 might have felt like a turtle in a tree again, but this won’t. Number one (also a topic of interest as the top contender, at least as of recently) vs. number 3 is a win-win for both.

The Armenian can make a good case of being back on the ladder if he defeats a big name like this, right after Oliveira; a name the champ hasn’t defeated yet. Meanwhile, Team Makhachev has also name-dropped Justin Gaethje as a potential challenge before UFC 313 and his own move up to 170. If he defeats the top contender for gold Tsarukyan, Gaethje can challenge the guard that much more easily.

Related: Dan Hooker’s wife: Who is Isabella Hooker and how did she meet the lightweight fighter?