In the first fight of the night in Saint Petersburg, the UFC will showcase a striker with potential for stardom. Hailing from Kyrgyzstan, lightweight Rafael Fiziev successfully transitioned from muay thai to mixed martial arts around 2015. The 26-year-old is 6-0 in MMA with six finishes, five of them being knockouts.
He’s based out of Tiger Muay Thai, previously Phuket Top Team, reputable training camps known for developing well-rounded, dangerous fighters like MMASucka favorite Petr Yan. If his Twitter bio is to be believed, Fiziev is actually a striking coach at TMT.