Rafael Fiziev looked up to Rafael dos Anjos, but now the 29-year-old rising star has to fight the future Hall of Famer Saturday night ... and any lingering reverence is now just a desire to kick RDA's ass!
TMZ Sports talked to 29-year-old, #10 ranked UFC lightweight ahead of his main event scrap with the #7 ranked, 37-year-old former champion at UFC Fight Night from the Apex in Vegas ... and we asked Fiziev about fighting someone he came up watching.
"This is for me a dream fight because I watched him a long time ago.