LAS VEGAS – Rafael Fiziev continues to climb the rankings.
The UFC lightweight contender continued his winning streak on Saturday night. Fiziev (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) knocked out former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in the main event of UFC on ESPN 39. The stoppage came 18 seconds into the fifth round.
It was a competitive fight that seemed to favor Fiziev slightly for most of the fight.
In the first three rounds, dos Anjos (31-14 MMA, 20-12 UFC) wanted to beat Fiziev, but was unable to. The former champion struggled to get Fiziev to the mat, but was able to control Fiziev for periods of time against the cage. However, when the bout was on the feet, Fiziev seemed to connect more and generally commanded the bout in that area.
In the fourth round, dos Anjos looked significantly better. He landed the cleaner shots of the round and looked more active on the feet. He also got a clean takedown and was able to take control time on Fiziev.
Unfortunately for dos Anjos, the momentum he quickly built up ended early in the fifth round. Fiziev clipped the Brazilian with a left hook, dropped him and followed with several punches to put the fight away.
With this win, Fiziev’s momentum in the UFC continues to grow. The 29-year-old is on a six-fight winning streak that includes notable names such as Bobby Green, Brad Riedel, Renato Moicano and now dos Anjos. Fiziev has only lost once in his entire professional MMA career, coming up short in his UFC debut in 2019.
On the other hand, dos Anjos tasted his first defeat since returning to lightweight. The former champion moved from welterweight back to lightweight in late 2020. He defeated Paul Felder in his comeback and then followed it up with a dominant decision win over Moicano. Dos Anjos is 3-3 in his last six games.
Current results from UFC on ESPN 39 include:
Rafael Fiziev def Rafael dos Anjos via KO (punches) – Round 5, 0:18 Caio Borralho def Armen Petrosyan via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) Said Nurmagomedov def. Douglas Silva de Andrade via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) Chase Sherman def. Jared Vanderaa via KO (punches) – Round 3, 3:10 Aiemann Zahabi def Ricky Turcios via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Jamie Mullarkey def Michael Johnson via split decision (29-28 , 28-29, 29-28) Cody Brundage def. Tresean Gore via KO (punches) – Round 1, 3:50 Antonina Shevchenko def. Courtney Casey via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) David Onama defeated Garrett Armfield via technical submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:13 Kennedy Nzechukwu def. Carl Roberson via TKO (elbows) – Round 3, 2:19 Saidyokub Kakhramonov def Ronnie Lawrence via decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
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