There is no dearth of highly skilled fighters in the UFC lightweight division. Islam Makhachev is currently reigning as the UFC lightweight champion and Justin Gaethje is the new BMF champion. However, there is one more name that has been coming up recently. Rafael Fiziev, the UFC fighter born in Azerbaijan, is making a huge impact on the UFC lightweight division.

His journey from being bullied during his childhood, to learning Muay Thai to protect himself, all the way to the day he made his UFC debut – Rafael Fiziev’s story is one for the story books. He has a really commendable professional record in MMA. However, it was not as easy for him always since he had to make changes in his life to be able to sift through different styles of combat and become the successful UFC fighter fans know him as today.

Rafael Fiziev’s UFC losses

Rafael Fiziev’s career in the UFC has been a really interesting one. As of now, the Lightweight fighter has a professional record of 12-2-0 and he has suffered only two losses in the UFC. Fiziev is a really decorated fighter who has been making waves in the lightweight division. His first UFC fight was against Magomed Mustafaev, which he lost. Then, he went on a winning streak, winning 5 consecutive fights.

Fiziev’s career statistics show that 67% of his career wins were by KO/TKO. The lightweight division is riddled with menacing and highly skilled fighters like Bobby Green and Brad Riddell. He then won his next fight, which was against Rafael dos Anjos, which he won by KO/TKO. However, his next bout was against one of the best lightweight fighters and the current BMF champ, Justin Gaethje. This fight marked the second loss that Rafale Fiziev suffered in the UFC, as he lost to Gaethje by decision.

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Fiziev is now scheduled to fight Mateusz Gamrot at UFC Fight Night, which will be held on 23 September.

Rafael Fiziev’s losses outside of the UFC

Rafael Fiziev was born in Kazakhstan and started training in Muay Thai at the age of 11 to defend himself. Apparently, Fiziev used to get bullied a lot in his early years, and he started learning Muay Thai to stop the bullying. Then, Fiziev started training in other forms of combat like sambo, boxing, Jiu Jitsu, and wrestling. This gave him the dynamic training that he needed to help him develop into a complete fighter.

The lightweight fighter said that the toughest part of switching over to MMA was learning how to grapple. However, he also mentioned that he had to adjust his striking abilities and approaches. In 2016, Rafael Fiziev participated in the Toyota Marathon Tournament. He secured an impressive win in the quarterfinals and even got through to the finals. However, in the finals, he lost to Sorgraw Petchyindee Academy, who defeated him.

Everything You Need to Know About the Lightweight Sensation Rafael Fiziev

In 2017, he entered the tournament once again and found Sorgraw Petchyindee Academy as his final opponent as well. Although he put up a great fight this time as well, he was defeated once again. That year, he fought Leyton Collimore at Phoenix FC 3, where he lost again by unanimous decision.

These losses shaped Fiziev in more ways than one. These losses trained him to be a better fighter, which helped him make a name for himself in the UFC as well.

UFC lightweight Rafael Fiziev’s combat career

Rafael Fiziev started his combat career with Muay Thai. He had his share of losses and wins when he participated in various tournaments. He made it quite far in some really notable Muay Thai tournaments across the world. However, one of his most prominent wins came when he defeated former champion Yodpayak Sitsongpeenong in Bangkok. He won the fight by KO in the second round.

Then, Rafael Fiziev made his professional debut in MMA in the year 2015. He was signed with MMA promotions like ROAD FC and Titan FC before UFC signed him. In the year 2019, Fiziev made his UFC debut against Magomed Mustafaev at UFC Fight Night 149.  Then, he quickly recovered as he secured a win over Alex White in 2019. As mentioned before, Fiziev lost the fight. However, he found his footing and went on to win his next few matches. His next loss came against Justin Gaethje; now, he is preparing to fight Mateusz Gamrot.

In 2020, at UFC Fight Night 172, Fiziev won the Fight of the Night award for winning the fight against Marc Diakiese. He came in as a replacement for Alan Patrick. Now, Rafael Fiziev is a renowned name in the UFC, and his impressive 12-2-0 record speaks volumes about the kind of fighter that he is.

It is a long way to the title for Rafael Fiziev for now. However, if he wins his next fight, then it will definitely bring him one step closer. As it is, the fighter has been quite impressive during his UFC run.

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