On Saturday, Rafael Fiziev earned his second consecutive win since joining the UFC, turning in a dominant performance that put the lightweight division on notice. The former Titan FC competitor put his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expertise on full display, out kicking and out punching fellow striker Marc Diakiese.
Fiziev earned a unanimous decision win (30-27, 29-28 x 2) to push his record to 8-1 (2-1 in the UFC). Diakiese, who has impressive striking ability of his own, fell to 14-4.
The match featured three rounds of exciting action. While Diakiese was considered the more dangerous stand-up fighter, it was Fiziev who landed the harder shots, bloodying the nose of his opponent early on. Fiziev also put on a wonderful defensive performance, masterfully dodging Diakiese's strikes and drawing comparisons to The Matrix with his moves.
Fiziev's main focus was on attacking the midsection of his opponent. He landed a series of brutal kicks to Diakiese's ribs, and the crackling sound of foot connecting with skin could be heard throughout the empty arena in Abu Dhabi and at home. As the fight progressed, Fiziev grew bolder and invited Diakiese to exchange with him.
However, he may have learned a valuable lesson in not taunting his opponent. Towards the end of the third round, Diakiese started to connect more frequently and even appeared to stun Fiziev with a powerful right hand as he went headhunting for a desperation finish. Fiziev powered through, however, and continued to throw punches and kicks until the end of the fight.
Fiziev has now won two straight fights since suffering a knockout loss in his UFC debut in April 2019. He's one of the more exciting fighters in the lightweight division and it should be interesting to see his UFC career progress.