Lightweight Rafael Fiziev needed 15 seconds into the second round to secure a brutal TKO over Manuel Torres to close out UFC Fight Night Saturday.
A spinning back kick to the head of Torres marked the beginning of the end as Torres retreated against the fence and Fiziev ended the sequence with a right hand to secure the win.
Fiziev (14-5 MMA) snapped Torres’ two-fight winning streak, as he had built a reputation of being a first-round knockout artist. Torres (17-4 MMA) had only been finished once by KO/TKO entering his fight with Fiziev, while Fiziev improved his finishing rate to 71 percent according to Tapology.
“I’m so happy, bro,” Fiziev said after the win, vocalizing his interested in a “BMF” title fight against Charles Oliveira down the line.
In the co-main event at middleweight, Sharabutdin Magomedov survived a tough, durable effort from Michel Pereira to earn a unanimous decision win, sweeping the cards 29-28, 29-28, 29-28. Pereira (32-15, 2 NCs) dropped Magomedov (17-1 MMA) in the opening round in a near-upset TKO. However, Magomedov kept his distance and overwhelmed Pereira with strikes and a plethora of takedowns to sway the decision in his favor.
Lightweights then took center stage as Matheus Camilo made short work of fan favorite Nazim Sadykhov with a first-round TKO. Camilo (11-3 MMA) found an opening with a crisp hook that sent Sadykhov (11-3-1 MMA) crashing to the Octagon canvas before a series of strikes followed. Camilo improved to 2-1 in the UFC since making his debut last year, while Sadykhov has split his last four fights.
In a fight between two surging flyweight contenders, Asu Almabayev secured a rare Suloev stretch submission (a modified leg lock) to defeat Charles Johnson in Round 3 in a back-and-forth affair. Almabayev (24-3 MMA) extended his streak to three, while Johnson (19-9 MMA) has lost three of his last five outings.
Middleweight Ikram Aliskerov earned a unanimous decision against Brunno Ferreira, taking the cards 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 in continuing main card action. Aliskerov (18-2 MMA) has won three in a row, halting Ferreira’s (15-4 MMA) momentum in suffering consecutive losses for the first time in his career.
After five of seven fights ended via stoppage during Saturday’s UFC Fight Night preliminary card from Baku, Azerbaijan, the six-fight main card brought much of the same.
The card opened with middleweight Abusupiyan Magomedov securing a first-round guillotine choke over Michal Oleksiejczuk. Magomedov (29-7-1 MMA) has won four of his last six, while Oleksiejczuk (22-10 MMA) saw a three-fight winning streak end.
Following a week off in observance of Fourth of July, the UFC returns to Las Vegas for International Fight Week Saturday, July 11, from T-Mobile Arena headlined by a five-round non-title welterweight rematch between former UFC featherweight champions Conor McGregor and Max Holloway at UFC 329.
–Field Level Media
