Rafael Fiziev

Fiziev snapped his skid in spectacular fashion in front of the Baku crowd. The first round was competitive, with Fiziev mixing takedowns and counters while Torres kept marching forward, but the fight ended almost immediately after the second round began when Fiziev blasted Torres with a spinning wheel kick and finished with punches on the floor.

Key moments

• Fiziev mixed in takedowns and clean counters during a competitive opening round rather than giving Torres a pure brawl.
• Fifteen seconds into round two, the spinning wheel kick landed flush and sent Torres crashing down.
• Fiziev followed instantly with ground strikes as Torres tried to stand, forcing the stoppage.
• The home-crowd knockout ended Fiziev's recent slide and reminded the division how dangerous his kicking game still is.

Fiziev had moments early, including a spinning kick attempt and body work, but Ruffy's patience and range management gradually took over. Late in the second round, Ruffy hurt Fiziev with a big right hand, swarmed as Fiziev tried to recover, and forced the referee to stop it at 4:30.

Key moments

• Fiziev flashed an early spinning kick and mixed in body punches to test Ruffy's reactions.
• Ruffy's jab and measured counters kept Fiziev from building his usual rhythm at long range.
• A hard right hand wobbled Fiziev late in round two and left him scrambling to survive.
• Ruffy kept firing as Fiziev stumbled backward, and the follow-up barrage brought the TKO at 4:30.

Back in Baku, Fiziev put together one of his cleaner three-round performances against a dangerous long-range striker. He consistently beat Bahamondes to the pocket, denied the late wrestling attempts, and closed the fight from top position for a 30-27 sweep on all three cards.

Key moments

• Fiziev repeatedly got inside Bahamondes's length and landed the sharper combinations in the first two rounds.
• Bahamondes tried to clinch and force takedowns late, but Fiziev kept shrugging off the entries against the fence.
• With the fight likely already in hand, Fiziev shot and secured his own late takedown to finish in control.

Fiziev started well, yet Gaethje found his rhythm in the second, landed the more telling shots including a key uppercut, and carried that edge to three 29-28 cards.

Key moments

• Fiziev's early stance switches and Muay Thai kicks helped him keep the opening exchanges competitive.
• Gaethje's pressure and a sharp uppercut in round two changed the tone of the fight.
• The third round stayed competitive, but Gaethje kept landing enough clean offense to stay ahead on the cards.
• All three judges scored the rematch 29-28 for Gaethje in another action-heavy lightweight scrap.

The main event ended abruptly and painfully instead of with the tactical striking-versus-wrestling battle everyone expected to see play out. Fiziev had competitive moments early, but in the second round his knee gave out during an exchange, leaving Gamrot to collect the injury TKO at 2:03.

Key moments

• The first round stayed competitive, with Fiziev forcing Gamrot to work hard for every clean grappling sequence.
• Early in round two, Fiziev's knee buckled and immediately changed the fight from a live contest to a medical emergency.
• Gamrot pounced as Fiziev collapsed, prompting the referee to halt the action at 2:03.

Fiziev's first fight with Gaethje delivered exactly the kind of violent kickboxing duel everyone expected, but Gaethje's pressure and late adjustments were enough to edge the cards. Fiziev had strong moments, especially when he could dictate the pocket exchanges, yet Gaethje's durability and output carried him to a majority decision in London.

Key moments

• The bout was scored a majority decision after all three rounds.
• Fiziev had stretches of clean countering and body work but could not separate decisively from Gaethje.
• Gaethje's constant pressure kept forcing Fiziev into the kind of exhausting firefight that narrows margins.
• The loss still elevated Fiziev's standing because he looked competitive with one of the division's established elites.

Headlining for the first time, Fiziev handled the five-round test against a former champion and then put an exclamation point on it seconds into the last frame. After staying sharp through four rounds of striking and defensive wrestling reads, he dropped dos Anjos with a left hook just 18 seconds into round five and ended the fight immediately.

Key moments

• Fiziev made it through a full main-event pace before finding the finish.
• The knockout came at 0:18 of round five off a left hook.
• Beating dos Anjos over championship-round distance answered questions about Fiziev's cardio and composure.
• The win pushed him from dangerous striker into legitimate lightweight contender territory.

After two competitive rounds, he surprised Riddell with a spinning wheel kick in the third and shut the fight down instantly, producing the kind of highlight that perfectly fits his style.

Key moments

• The bout stayed competitive deep enough into the fight to make the sudden finish feel even sharper.
• Fiziev landed the spinning wheel kick at 2:20 of round three.
• The knockout over a fellow elite striker boosted his reputation more than a routine points win would have.

He repeatedly found the body and legs, stayed balanced through Green's rhythm changes, and won a clear unanimous decision over fifteen minutes.

Key moments

• The fight went the full distance against one of the division's trickier volume strikers.
• Fiziev controlled long stretches with body work, kicks, and sharper single-shot counters.
• Winning cleanly over Green showed he could bank rounds without needing a spectacular ending.

Fiziev's breakout UFC finish came against Moicano, a respected veteran who had been expected to test his all-around game. Instead, Fiziev kept the striking exchanges dangerous, found the timing for a left hook late in the first round, and produced a statement knockout against a name opponent.

Key moments

• Moicano entered as a slight favorite, so the finish carried real upside for Fiziev's stock.
• The left hook knockout landed at 4:05 of round one.
• It was Fiziev's first UFC finish after the decision wins over Diakiese and White.
• The result made it clear that his striking translated against higher-level lightweight opposition.

Diakiese was supposed to be an awkward test after Fiziev's debut loss, but Fiziev handled the matchup with patience and cleaner striking over three rounds.

Key moments

• The fight went the full fifteen minutes and ended in a unanimous decision for Fiziev.
• Diakiese entered as the more heavily favored side in many pre-fight reads.
• Fiziev's composure showed growth from the chaotic debut loss to Mustafaev.
• That win set the platform for the bigger breakthroughs that followed against Moicano, Green, and Riddell.

Fiziev's UFC debut went badly in a hurry when Mustafaev caught him with a spinning back kick and swarmed with punches. The stoppage at 1:26 of round one exposed how dangerous the promotion-level margin for error can be, especially against another explosive athlete willing to meet violence with violence.

Key moments

• The finish came only 1:26 into Fiziev's UFC debut.
• Mustafaev's spinning back kick created the damage before the punch follow-up ended the fight.
• It was the only loss of Fiziev's early 6-0 start before he rebuilt in the UFC.
• The setback forced a quicker adaptation to top-level speed and shot selection.

Fiziev barely needed a minute to dismantle Munguntsooj in South Korea, landing a head kick and then immediate follow-up punches for the finish. It was one of the clearest examples of how quickly he could end a fight once an opponent made a single defensive mistake at kicking range.

Key moments

• The fight ended at 0:58 of the opening round.
• The head kick started the finish before Fiziev piled on with punches.
• The result strengthened his regional reputation as an elite lightweight striker.

Kim made Fiziev work deeper into the round than some of his earlier opponents, but once Fiziev found the clinch and close-range openings the fight unraveled fast.

Key moments

• The stoppage came at 4:23 of round one, later than many of Fiziev's early finishes.
• Fiziev used knees and punches rather than a long-range kick to get the stoppage.
• It reinforced that he could still finish once the range collapsed into tighter exchanges.

Before the knockout-heavy stretch became his calling card, Fiziev picked up his first professional win with a rear-naked choke over Nabiev in Bishkek.

Key moments

• The rear-naked choke ended the bout at 3:40 of round one.
• It was Fiziev's first professional victory after the debut against Sam Bastin.
• That early result contrasts sharply with the striker-first identity he later built.

Fiziev's pro debut was already unmistakably his style: a fast first-round finish driven by a dynamic knee rather than a cautious feeling-out process.

Key moments

• The fight ended in the first round by flying knee.
• The debut immediately set the tone for Fiziev's later reputation as a highlight finisher.
• He followed it with the Nabiev submission before fully settling into the striker-led version of his game.