Rafael Fiziev had one of his finest performances at UFC Fight Night 280 when he turned back surging contender Manuel Torres in the main event.
After four losses in his past five fights, Fiziev (14-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) had much pressure to deliver Saturday on home soil at National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan. He did just that with a second-round knockout of Torres (17-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) that was will part of his highlight reel for the remainder of his career.
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Fiziev showed his complete MMA skill set early by taking Torres to the ground and making him question what was coming his way. Then when the second round began, FIziev uncorked one of his trademark spinning wheel kicks that dropped Torres before a swarm of strikes led to the brutal finish.
It was everything Fiziev needed in a moment where his back was against the wall. He answered in a way that opens all sorts of interesting options for his future, but some things have to play out in the lightweight division first.
Fiziev called for a BMF title fight with Charles Oliveira. It sounds fun, but ultimately feels like a bit of a reach at this point, despite the fact they were scheduled to fight in October before Fiziev was forced out due to injury.
More realistic names feel like a rematch with Mateusz Gamrot, Renato Moicano, or perhaps even Quillan Salkilld. Those are more on the level of where Fiziev fits at this point, and would all be compelling fights for their own reasons.
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Credit to Fiziev for calling out the big names and trying to maximize the leverage of this moment. His record was rough coming into this fight, though, and getting another performance like he did against Fiziev would put him in much better position to get one of those fights.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Sean Shelby’s Shoes: What’s next for Rafael Fiziev after UFC Baku win?
