While it has become a reality that UFC fans never would've predicted three years ago, when Rafael Fiziev appeared to be the face of the new generation at 155 pounds, the dynamic striker enters Saturday's return hoping to merely hang on to the outskirts of lightweight contention.
The good news for Fiziev (13-5) is that he will headline Saturday's UFC Fight Night homecoming in Baku, Azerbaijan, against rising slugger Manuel Torres (17-3). But the bad news for the 33-year-old, who enters ranked No. 11, is that he has lost four of his last five bouts, with the only win coming last June in the UFC's maiden voyage to his home nation, which bridges Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
In order for Fiziev to avoid falling out of the rankings and becoming a lightweight afterthought, he will need to upend the No. 15-ranked Torres, a 31-year-old from Mexico who hasn't fought beyond the first round in 18 straight fights dating back to 2018.
This very much has the feel of a must-win affair for Fiziev.
"Of course, each fight is a must-win for me and especially this one," Fiziev told CBS Sports on Monday. "After my last fight [a second-round TKO loss to Mauricio Ruffy in February], I have to win in front of my people. Each fight's importance is the same. I only have one goal and focus when I enter the cage and that's to win.
"I'm always hungry. Fighting is my life. This is how I live my life -- fighting, rest, fighting, rest and making money with my hands. That's the only one way where I am happy. So I have to make myself happy on Saturday with a good win."
After losing his 2019 UFC debut via first-round TKO against Magomed Mustafaev, Fiziev ran off a six-fight win streak over the next three years and scored a trio of resounding knockouts against Renato Moicano, Brad Riddell and former champion Rafael dos Anjos to announce himself as a legitimate title contender.
Nearly everything for Fiziev, since then, has gone wrong in some form.
Fiziev dropped a competitive majority decision to current 155-pound king Justin Gaethje in 2023 and then suffered a leg injury in a fight he was winning at Mateusz Gamrot that ended in a TKO loss. Then, following an 18-month layoff to rehab for torn ACL in his left knee, Fiziev lost another competitive fight in his rematch with Gaethje at UFC 313 on 29-28 scorecards across the board.
It wasn't until his stoppage loss to Ruffy nearly five months ago, however, that conversations began to be had among MMA experts suddenly questioning whether Fiziev was merely a victim of sustained bad luck or that he's plummeting in the wrong direction.
As legendary NFL coach Bill Parcells once famously said, "You are what your record says you are." Yet, Fiziev has clearly shown top 10 ability throughout his UFC run and has faced nothing but top competition this decade.
"Look, I'm a fighter," Fiziev said. "Every time, I try to [bring] something new when I step into the cage. I still feel like I learn something new in the cage everyday [and took something from each loss]."
The only silver lining for Fiziev, who sits in a virtual pick 'em entering the Torres fight from a betting perspective, is that his one win over his last five bouts -- a unanimous decision against Ignacio Bahamondes last June -- came against the lone fighter who has defeated the ultra aggressive Torres throughout his six walks to the Octagon.
Torres, whose "El Loco" nickname perfectly sums up his exciting fighting style, suffered a first-round TKO loss to Bahamondes in September 2024 inside The Sphere in Las Vegas at UFC 306. The setback never changed his mindset or style, however, and Torres rebounded with back-to-back first-round TKO wins against Drew Dober and Grant Dawson to earn his first five-round headlining fight.
In 17 pro victories dating back to his 2014 MMA debut, Torres has recorded 16 stoppages, including seven by submission. But Fiziev is expecting the experience and quality-of-competition gap between the two to play a key role.
"I believe I have a little more experience than him in the UFC and also in my life," Fiziev said. "But he has one advantage with his body and it's that he's a tall guy and has more reach. But I've been fighting all my life with tall guys all my life. This is the only advantage he has that I can say.
"[Torres] is a strong guy and he has a bomb in his hands. He believes in [his power,] too and he has a good win streak in the first round. But, I have been doing it all my life, also. I also have bombs in my hands. I am a dangerous guy so it's not easy for anyone to stay in front of me inside the cage."
While Fiziev is certainly motivated by what the importance of a win could mean to his future in title contention, he is just as focused upon representing his Azerbaijani roots in front of his own fans.
"I am very happy to come back because it's home and it's my land [and] my people here," Fiziev said. "Also, this is some story for me, personally. I just can't wait to make fire in front of my people again. People here love combat sports. We have a lot of wrestling, a lot of boxers. It's a history for us because we are the first country from this area [to host a UFC event]. For us and all of the country, this is a big story because Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, nobody make it [yet]. For us, this is something wild and important. And now we have more Azerbaijani people in UFC."
Add CBS Sports on Google Join the Conversation comments
