Rafael Fiziev was the first fighter from Azerbaijan to compete in the UFC and he returned home with an impressive win in the UFC Baku co-main event.
To get the job done, Fiziev had to slow down a streaking Ignacio Bahamondes, who looked better and better during his recent wins but he ran into a brick wall on Saturday. Over three rounds, Fiziev showcased a strong striking and grappling arsenal that continuously kept Bahamondes off balance.
When it was over, all three judges scored the fight 30-27 as Fiziev gets the win and also puts an end to his recent three-fight losing streak.
“It was a very good fight,” Fiziev said after getting his hand raised. “I cannot lose in my home. I cannot lose in front of my people. Azerbaijan deserves to be happy. These people deserve to be happy. These people deserve that and I’m happy to represent my homeland.”
With Bahamondes looking to operate from the outside, Fiziev was just biding his time to close the distance and unleash his biggest strikes. Fiziev’s speed and power were keeping Bahamondes from really committing to any aggressive combinations as the lightweights were both being careful not to overextend themselves.
Late in the opening round, Fiziev connected with his best punch after clipping Bahamondes with a powerful left hand that immediately got the crowd’s attention.
Bahomondes turned to his wrestling in the second, although he wasn’t able to get Fiziev to the ground. That did make Fiziev play defense and Bahamondes started showing a little more confidence in his strikes as he started mixing up his kicks and punches.
That led to a couple of takedowns from Fiziev with Bahamondes briefly looking for a guillotine choke as a counter but eventually the lightweights got back to the feet again.
With five minutes remaining, Bahamondes got busier and started finding a home for more of his punches but Fiziev was quick to counter with some powerful combinations of his own. Fiziev was consistently connecting with the harder shots and Bahomondes just wasn’t able to match him despite his best efforts.
A final scramble on the ground saw Fiziev drop a few more hammers and Bahamondes actually slicing him open with an elbow but it was just too little too late to make the comeback.
While he was coming into the fight off three straight losses, Fiziev lost one of those due to injury and then took a short-notice rematch against Justin Gaethje. Now back on track, Fiziev should remain a threat to anybody and anybody in the lightweight rankings.
