Rafael Fiziev

Rafael Fiziev (born March 5, 1993) is a Kyrgyzstani professional mixed martial artist, who currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of December 6, 2021, he is #11 in the UFC lightweight rankings.

Early life

Fiziev was born in Kazakhstan, to a Russian mother and an Azerbaijani father. Fiziev grew up in and is a citizen of Kyrgyzstan.

When he was a child, Fiziev's dad bought him and his cousins boxing gloves and told them to spar. Getting beat up by his cousins, Fiziev didn't enjoy fighting and soon gave it up. It wasn't until he changed schools as a teenager that Fiziev took up Muay Thai at the age of 11 due to being bullied. While he concentrated on Muay Thai growing up, Fiziev also took up several other combat sports including combat sambo, boxing, Jiu Jitsu, and wrestling as well. When switching from Thai boxing to MMA, Fiziev says learning the grappling was the toughest part but his striking and standup required adjusting as well.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Fiziev made his professional MMA debut in 2015. He fought in Asian regional promotions like ROAD FC and the American promotion Titan FC before he signed with UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In his promotional debut, Fiziev faced Magomed Mustafaev on April 20, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 149. He lost the fight by first-round technical knockout.

Fiziev next faced Alex White on October 26, 2019, at UFC on ESPN+ 20. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Fiziev faced Marc Diakiese, replacing, Alan Patrick on July 19, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 172. He won the fight via unanimous decision. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.

On August 5, 2020, Fiziev announced on his social media that he had signed a new, four-fight contract with the UFC.

Fiziev was scheduled to face Renato Moicano on November 28, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Lewis. However, Moicano pulled out on November 28 after testing positive for COVID-19 and the bout was rescheduled for UFC 256. Fiziev won the fight via TKO in the first round. This win earned Fiziev his first Performance of the Night award.

Fiziev faced Bobby Green on August 7, 2021 at UFC 265. He won the fight via unanimous decision. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.

Fiziev faced Brad Riddell at UFC on ESPN 31 on December 4, 2021. He won the fight via knockout in round three. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.

Fiziev is scheduled to face Rafael dos Anjos on February 19, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 201. However, the bout was postponed to UFC 272 due to visa issues with Fiziev.

Personal life

Outside of fighting, Rafael Fiziev enjoys blacksmithing with an emphasis on cold steel arms.

In 2021, Fiziev revealed he would no longer be representing his home country of Kyrgyzstan during his UFC bouts due to the country's religious discrimination of Shia Muslims. He also stated he planned to move out of Kyrgyzstan.