Las Vegas, NV — Rafael Fiziev finally earned his first finish inside the octagon at UFC 256.
While four UFC bouts doesn’t seem like a long time to earn your first finish, Fiziev’s status as a striking coach at the famed Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand set some lofty expectations when he joined the UFC.
Now, with three straight wins, the most recent a knockout of Renato Moicano, those expectations have been met.
“I feel amazing,” Fiziev said following the fight. Struggling to find the words, he said simply that “I’m really happy now.”
Asked what he wants next, or more precisely who, Fiziev said “it doesn’t matter who and where, I just want to stay busy next year.” And while he has made callouts in the past, Fiziev added that he won’t this time out, because “I’m not like a really top guy now. If you give me someone to kill, I’m ready to kill him.”
While he does want to stay busy, it won’t be a three week turnaround. Probably not next month on Fight Island, if that return comes to pass. “I’m not like Figueiredo and I’m not like Superman. No. I just want to rest a little bit and then next year, maybe three months? Just give me three months and I’m ready again.”
When it was pointed out that Conor McGregor had liked his knockout on Instagram, Fiziev responded “he knows me now, yeah? It’s crazy.”
Watch the full UFC 256 post-fight press conference with Rafael Fiziev above.
