With Manuel Torres in hostile territory, all attention had been on Azerbaijan’s own Rafael Fiziev ahead of UFC Baku on Saturday.
The card’s lightweight main event found Fiziev looking to return to the win column following a loss to Mauricio Ruffy. Born in Kazakhstan and fighting out of Tiger Muay Thai, Fiziev had fought some of the best at 155lbs, including Justin Gaethje, King Green, Rafael dos Anjos, Mateusz Gamrot and others.
Torres was happy to get his hands going and trade with the always-dangerous Fiziev to start round one. Fiziev got a kick in, then changed levels and landed a takedown, mixing things up a bit. Torres was quickly back to his feet, but landed low with a knee, leading to a brief break. Back underway, Torres would catch Fiziev with a punch, leading to him retreating for a moment. He regrouped, and the pair got back to trading at center. Lots of back-and-forth in the back half of the round. Torres would go to the ground in the final minute, more of a slip, but wasn’t down long. He’d fire a knee trailed by a punch in the final minute, then land a crisp jab.
Rafael Fiziev shut things down early in round two. A spinning back kick caught Torres, and dropped him even partially blocked. Fiziev went in for the kill with uppercuts, lefts and rights. One sent him down, and some follow-up strikes sealed the deal. The crowd erupted, with Fiziev getting a huge win at home.
Torres was seen sporting a massive mouse under his eye following the stoppage. Fiziev, meanwhile, called for a shot at the “BMF” belt, currently held by Charles Oliveira. The pair were previously scheduled to fight, only for the bout to fall through last October.
Official Result: Rafael Fiziev def. Manuel Torres by TKO (spinning back kick and punches), Round 2, 0:15
