UFC lightweight, Rafael Fiziev, recently sat down for an interview with RT Sport. He said that a new era in the lightweight division of the UFC is upon us as Khabib Nurmagomedov announced his retirement from the sport. The Kyrgyz fighter also revealed how Nurmagomedov established his dominance over the division.

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‘The Eagle’ is undoubtedly one of the most dominant fighters ever to have graced the UFC Octagon. Fiziev believes many of his opponents, in fact, quit mentally before even fighting the Dagestani. Nurmagomedov’s relentless pressure and his ability to maul his opponents on the ground play an important role in it.

Yeah, Khabib smash everyone, everybody, and go and go rest. Now, this new era. Yeah, now we’ll see what happened. I don’t know we have. I think everyone good level here. Top Five, top five and like the Chandler like Oliveira, Poirier, Gaethje, Khabib,” said Fiziev.

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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – OCTOBER 25: Khabib Nurmagomedov of Russia stands in his corner prior to his lightweight title bout against Justin Gaethje during the UFC 254 event on October 25, 2020 on UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

I think everyone has a good level but Khabib, and like everyone thinks like, I don’t know how to say no, he has strong grappling or strong control. And everyone when start wrestling with him and everyone, ‘Whoa, he smash me now’.

“Like, like you but then, ‘No’, I think some like many people broke inside before fight when they went into the fight. I think because everyone too much scared of Khabib,” added the striking wizard.

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What’s next for Rafael Fiziev?

‘Ataman’ earned a sensational knockout finish over Renato Carneiro in his last fight at UFC 256. He is currently on a 3-fight winning streak in the 155 lbs division of the UFC. A loss to Magomed Mustafaev is the only stain in his otherwise perfect professional career so far.

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 11: (L-R) Renato Moicano of Brazil and Rafael Fiziev of Kyrgyzstan face off during the UFC 256 weigh-in at UFC APEX on December 11, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

He has certainly made his case to earn an even higher-ranked opponent in his next fight. Given how packed the lightweight division of the UFC currently is, one can expect him to have only tough fights ahead.

READ MORE: Anderson Silva Excited for New Challenge in Boxing Against Julio Ceaser Cahvez Jr

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Apratim Banerjee

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Apratim Banerjee is a senior UFC author for EssentiallySports and has been writing professionally for almost a year. Before his current gig, Apratim worked as a UFC writer for Sportskeeda. A long-time MMA fan, Apratim has developed a critical eye for the sport that has helped him transfer his vast knowledge to his copies and give hardcore and casual readers a detailed insight into the fights and fighters. Dan Henderson’s brutal knockout against Michael Bisping at UFC 100 in 2009 is one of his earliest memories of the sport. He has never missed a UFC PPV or a Fight Night since, which speaks volumes about his wealth of MMA knowledge. Israel Adesanya, Jon Jones, Stipe Miocic, Conor McGregor are some of his favorite fighters. Apart from this, Apratim plays soccer in his free time and loves scoring long-distance goals.

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