Rafael Fiziev has become of the best fighters in the UFC’s lightweight division in recent years. Fiziev was an exceptional Muay Thai kickboxer before his entry into the UFC. Although he was balancing his MMA career and kickboxing career up until 2017, Rafael finally gave up on it and turned his attention to Mixed Martial Arts.
Fiziev started his MMA career in 2015, against Sam Bastin at W.I.N FC on July 18. The fight ended in the first round as Rafael finished the bout via flying knee. He then went on a run that saw him beat Gunduz Nabiev, Suraj Bahadur, Seung Yeon Kim, Nandin-Erdene Munguntsooj, and Nurzhan Tutaev. Before entering the UFC, Rafael racked up an MMA record of 6-0 with 5 KOs and 1 submission win.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=-y4ajy_j_Bo&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE
He has not fared too badly in the UFC either! He went the full distance against the likes of Bobby Green, Marc Diakiese, and Alex White. However, whenever Rafael was challenged, he came through and showed his elite striking skills.
In the UFC, he knocked out Brad Riddell, Renato Moicano, and Rafael dos Anjos. But, his UFC career has not been perfect so far and he has one loss in his MMA career. So who is the only fighter to beat Fiziev? Let’s find out.
Rafael Fiziev vs Magomed Mustafaev: What really happened?
In St. Petersburg, Russia, Rafael Fiziev made his UFC debut against Magomed Mustafaev. Mustafaev was coming into the fight with an MMA record of 13-2 and lost his last fight to Kevin Lee. Rafael Fiziev, on the other hand, was undefeated with a record of 6-0. At that point, he also had a 100% finishing rate. Fiziev and Mustafaev clashed on April 20, 2019.
The bout lasted a grand total of 1 minute and 26 seconds. Before the bout ended, Mogmed Mustafaev landed 10 significant strikes while Fiziev landed only 1 as per UFC stats. Rafael did not seem to get going in the fight at all and Magomed landed a huge spinning backhead kick to finish the bout. It marked his first career loss and it came via KO. But Raafel recovered from that loss really well, he has not been knocked down since then.
Nicknamed “Ataman,” Rafael Fiziev has an MMA record of 12-1, and he is set to fight Justin Gaethje in the co-main event of UFC 287.
