Tag: Brad Riddell

Rafael Fiziev Admits Head Kick KO Over Brad Riddell Was Bittersweet

UFC lightweight Rafael Fiziev earned a highlight knockout over Brad Riddell at UFC Vegas 44, but he felt conflicted after beating his longtime friend.

Fiziev and Riddell are former training partners at Tiger Muay Thai gym in Thailand. While the two…

Rafael Fiziev

UFC lightweight Rafael Fiziev earned a highlight knockout over Brad Riddell at UFC Vegas 44, but he felt conflicted after beating his longtime friend.

Fiziev and Riddell are former training partners at Tiger Muay Thai gym in Thailand. While the two agreed to remain friends regardless of the outcome at UFC Vegas 44, Fiziev and Riddell knew their matchup would be a bit unorthodox and uncomfortable.

Fiziev said earlier on UFC Vegas 44 media day that he didn’t anticipate a lot of difference with fighting Riddell as opposed to his past opponents such as Bobby Green. But after securing a vicious head kick knockout over Riddell, he felt mixed emotions about his performance.

“I feel uncomfortable when I started,” Fiziev admitted in the post-fight press conference. “Not too much. I understand this is a real fight. Maybe he would knock me out, but it’s still a little bit uncomfortable.”

Fiziev showed some remorse despite earning arguably the biggest win of his young UFC career.

“I don’t know if I’m sad or I’m happy because it’s not so good when your friend’s like that,” Fiziev continued. “Of course, I’m happy and sad, and happy. I don’t know.”

Rafael Fiziev Has Been On A Roll Since Joining The UFC

With the victory over Riddell, Fiziev has now won five fights in a row since joining the UFC in 2019. After a tough loss to Magomed Mustafaev in 2019, he’s earned dominant wins over the likes of Marc Diakiese, Green, and Renato Carneiro.

Fiziev’s win over Riddell will more than likely propel him further up the lightweight rankings. However, he is still dealing with the emotions of competing against his good friend on the sport’s highest stage.

Who would you like to see Rafael Fiziev fight next?

Continue Reading Rafael Fiziev Admits Head Kick KO Over Brad Riddell Was Bittersweet at MMA News.

Rafael Fiziev Admits Head Kick KO Over Brad Riddell Was Bittersweet

UFC lightweight Rafael Fiziev earned a highlight knockout over Brad Riddell at UFC Vegas 44, but he felt conflicted after beating his longtime friend.

Fiziev and Riddell are former training partners at Tiger Muay Thai gym in Thailand. While the two…

Rafael Fiziev

UFC lightweight Rafael Fiziev earned a highlight knockout over Brad Riddell at UFC Vegas 44, but he felt conflicted after beating his longtime friend.

Fiziev and Riddell are former training partners at Tiger Muay Thai gym in Thailand. While the two agreed to remain friends regardless of the outcome at UFC Vegas 44, Fiziev and Riddell knew their matchup would be a bit unorthodox and uncomfortable.

Fiziev said earlier on UFC Vegas 44 media day that he didn’t anticipate a lot of difference with fighting Riddell as opposed to his past opponents such as Bobby Green. But after securing a vicious head kick knockout over Riddell, he felt mixed emotions about his performance.

“I feel uncomfortable when I started,” Fiziev admitted in the post-fight press conference. “Not too much. I understand this is a real fight. Maybe he would knock me out, but it’s still a little bit uncomfortable.”

Fiziev showed some remorse despite earning arguably the biggest win of his young UFC career.

“I don’t know if I’m sad or I’m happy because it’s not so good when your friend’s like that,” Fiziev continued. “Of course, I’m happy and sad, and happy. I don’t know.”

Rafael Fiziev Has Been On A Roll Since Joining The UFC

With the victory over Riddell, Fiziev has now won five fights in a row since joining the UFC in 2019. After a tough loss to Magomed Mustafaev in 2019, he’s earned dominant wins over the likes of Marc Diakiese, Green, and Renato Carneiro.

Fiziev’s win over Riddell will more than likely propel him further up the lightweight rankings. However, he is still dealing with the emotions of competing against his good friend on the sport’s highest stage.

Who would you like to see Rafael Fiziev fight next?

Continue Reading Rafael Fiziev Admits Head Kick KO Over Brad Riddell Was Bittersweet at MMA News.

Rafael Fiziev Feels Conflicted After Brad Riddell Knockout

Rafael FizievUFC lightweight contender Rafael Fiziev felt mixed emotions after finishing his former teammate Brad Riddell at UFC Vegas 44. Fiziev and Riddell competed in the UFC Vegas 44 co-main event after years of training together at Tiger Muay Thai gym in Thailand. Despite their long friendship, they decided to fight each other and put on […]

Rafael Fiziev

UFC lightweight contender Rafael Fiziev felt mixed emotions after finishing his former teammate Brad Riddell at UFC Vegas 44.

Fiziev and Riddell competed in the UFC Vegas 44 co-main event after years of training together at Tiger Muay Thai gym in Thailand. Despite their long friendship, they decided to fight each other and put on a great fight for the fans.

Despite Fiziev saying earlier in the week that he didn’t anticipate any issues fighting his friend, he had a different perspective during his UFC Vegas 44 post-fight press conference.

“It feels amazing, what can I say,” Fiziev said. “I don’t know if I’m sad or I’m happy. It’s not so great when you beat your friend like that. It was a tough fight and it was tough to see him go down like that. He’s a great guy.”

Rafael Fiziev Could Be A Dark Horse In The Lightweight Division

Many fighters are seen as gladiators only, but the fact of the matter is that these athletes are human beings with raw emotions in competition. Friends in MMA rarely agree to fight one another, due to the extra stress and uncomfortable setting that is involved with the event.

Fiziev is no exception to this. As he continues his rise through the lightweight division, his fight with Riddell will more than likely be something he remembers for a long time, for the right reasons and wrong reasons.

Fiziev’s win over Riddell was his fifth straight in the UFC and was arguably the most impressive performance of his tenure after his performance over Bobby Green earlier this year.

Fiziev could be on the fast track to a path to the lightweight title picture if he continues to string together wins. He’ll more than likely get another big name for his next octagon appearance.

What were your thoughts on Rafael Fiziev’s performance?

Rafael Fiziev Stops Brad Riddell With Wheel Kick Knockout – UFC Vegas 44 Highlights

Rafael FizievTop-15 UFC lightweight contender, Rafael Fiziev is sure to leapfrog former training partner, Brad Riddell upon the release of the updated reankings next week — following a massive third round wheel kick in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 44. Expected to provide fireworks from the onset and throughout, former Tiger Muay Thai sparring partners, […]

Rafael Fiziev

Top-15 UFC lightweight contender, Rafael Fiziev is sure to leapfrog former training partner, Brad Riddell upon the release of the updated reankings next week — following a massive third round wheel kick in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 44.

Expected to provide fireworks from the onset and throughout, former Tiger Muay Thai sparring partners, Riddell and Fiziev obliged each other immediately — with the two exchanging sharp strikes inside the pocket during each exchange.

Slipping Riddell with a beautifully timed elbow in the middle of the second round, Fiziev began to really find his range with countering and winging hooks in the pocket as Riddell managed to find himself on top following two well-timed takedown attempts.

Rafael Fiziev stops former sparring partner Brad Riddell with a highlight-reel wheel kick

Removing the judges from the equation in a relatively close fight, Fiziev launched a picture-perfect wheel kick as Riddell circled beside the Octagon fence, clipping him flush resulting his in his fifth consecutive victory.

Below, catch the highlights from Rafael Fiziev’s wheel kick knockout win over Brad Riddell.

Fighters React To Rafael Fiziev’s Wheel Kick KO Win At UFC Vegas 44

Brad Riddell vs. Rafael Fiziev was a solid co-headliner with a special finish. 

The two fighters met in a bout on Saturday night (December 4) at the UFC Vegas 44 event from Las Vegas, Nevada at the UFC Apex facility..

The first round had a …

Brad Riddell vs. Rafael Fiziev was a solid co-headliner with a special finish. 

The two fighters met in a bout on Saturday night (December 4) at the UFC Vegas 44 event from Las Vegas, Nevada at the UFC Apex facility..

The first round had a slow start with Riddell being various cautious and not throwing a lot of volume although he was landing some leg kicks. However, Riddell did get in a nice combo to end the frame. They started to let their hands go in the second round. Brad had a cut under right eye and was bleeding from his left temple. Riddell got the brief takedown in the third round, but let him back up. Fiziev finished the fight with a wheel kick. 

Peep the highlights of the fight courtesy of the UFC’s official Twitter account:

Riddell entered this fight on a six-fight winning streak with his promotional debut going down at the UFC 243 pay-per-view event where he picked up a decision win over Jamie Mullarkey. 

Fiziev entered the fight with a pro-MMA record of 10-1 and was riding a four-fight winning streak including his most recent win over Bobby Green by decision at UFC 265. 

Let’s see how the fighters reacted to the outcome of this fight: 

UFC Vegas 44 Results: Rob Font vs. Jose Aldo, Brad Riddell vs. Rafael Fiziev

MMA News is providing ongoing coverage of UFC Vegas 44. We’ve got you covered with live results, video highlights, and post-fight tidbits.

Continue Reading Fighters React To Rafael Fiziev’s Wheel Kick KO Win At UFC Vegas 44 at MMA News.

Film Room: Brad Riddell vs. Drew Dober – UFC 263

At UFC Vegas 44, Brad Riddell will face Rafael Fiziev in the co-main event. Here is a look at his most recent performance against UFC veteran Drew Dober.

Coming into this fight, Dober had won three of his last four fights. He had racked up wins ove…

Brad Riddell, Drew Dober

At UFC Vegas 44, Brad Riddell will face Rafael Fiziev in the co-main event. Here is a look at his most recent performance against UFC veteran Drew Dober.

Coming into this fight, Dober had won three of his last four fights. He had racked up wins over Polo Reyes, Nasrat Haqparast, and Alexander Hernandez, with all three wins coming by way of KO/TKO. That momentum hit a snag, however, in his last fight prior to UFC 263, when he joined the long list of victims of Islam Makhachev at UFC 259.

Islam Makhachev Submits Drew Dober at UFC 259 - MMA Sucka
Image Credit: Zuffa LLC

Brad Riddell, on the other hand, entered the fight with an undefeated UFC record of 3-0 and a professional record of 9-1. Riddell entered the promotion with a reputation as an experienced kickboxer, with an impressive record of 59-10 in the sport.

Will Brad Riddell Be City Kickboxing's Next Big Star?

With Dober having three KO/TKOs out of his last four fights and Riddell using his striking expertise to outpoint each of his prior UFC opponents, fans were ready for a standup battle in what would be Riddell’s biggest test to date.

You can relive this lightweight contest in its entirety below.

Continue Reading Film Room: Brad Riddell vs. Drew Dober – UFC 263 at MMA News.