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Rafael Fiziev proved himself as a new star at the UFC when the UFC lightweight contender extended his winning streak on Saturday night. Fiziev (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) proved himself a new UFC star by knocking out former UFC lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos in the UFC main event of UFC on ESPN 39.
Fiziev 29, may not be comfortable calling other fighters out, but he has no problem encountering them in the cage. His performance on Saturday was as effective and violent as it has been throughout his career. Representing the country of Azerbaijan, Fiziev worked in five rounds with a combination of kicks and boxing on the body of Dos Anjos.
After struggling to gain control of the fight in the first three rounds, Dos Anjos did his best in the fourth, where he landed a magnificent flying king and a very dangerous sniper and took a late takedown to regain his grip on the match. Got it. But as the former champion looked to find his way to the final round, the Fiziev thundered in response, knocking RDA down with a big punch and two follow-up shots to the ground. Due to which referee Mark Smith had to intervene between the two fighters and ended the match and the fight at 0:18 of round 5.
His victory over the former lightweight champion earned hid a potential bump in the US $ 50,000 performance bonus and division rankings.
Dos Anjos, on the other hand, tasted their first defeat after returning to light weight. The former champion returned to light weight at the end of 2020 from Welterweight. He defeated Paul Felder on the return and then won with a dominant decision over Moicano. Dos Anjos is 3-3 in his last six matches.
According to the official UFC rankings, Dos Anjos moved to the No. 7 spot on Saturday as a lightweight. Fiziev was 10th.
The latest UFC on ESPN 39 results include:
Rafael Fiziev def. Rafael dos Anjos via knockout (punches) – Round 5, 0:18
Said Nurmagomedov def. Douglas Silva de Andrade via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Chase Sherman def. Jared Vanderaa via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 3:10
Aiemann Zahabi def. Ricky Turcios via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Jamie Mullarkey def. Michael Johnson via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Cody Brundage def. Tresean Gore via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:50
Antonina Shevchenko def. Cortney Casey via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
David Onama def. Garrett Armfield via technical submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:13
Kennedy Nzechukwu def. Karl Roberson via TKO (elbows) – Round 3, 2:19
Saidyokub Kakhramonov def. Ronnie Lawrence via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
