Rafael Fiziev gave his home fans the ending they had been waiting for.
Headlining UFC Baku, “Ataman” delivered a spectacular second-round knockout of rising Mexican standout Manuel Torres, snapping his recent skid and sending the partisan crowd into a frenzy at the National Gymnastics Arena in Azerbaijan.
The opening round was fought at a blistering pace, with both lightweights willing to stand in the pocket and trade. Fiziev mixed up his attack early, landing kicks and even surprising Torres with a timely takedown.
“El Loco” quickly returned to his feet and found moments of success of his own, catching Rafael Fiziev with a clean punch during an entertaining back-and-forth exchange.
Despite Torres ending the round with a sharp jab, the momentum shifted dramatically once the second frame began. Just seconds into the round, Fiziev unleashed a spinning back kick that crashed into Torres and sent him stumbling backward.
Sensing his opportunity, the Azerbaijani favorite immediately poured on the pressure with a barrage of punches, connecting with uppercuts and hooks that dropped his opponent to the canvas.
A few follow-up strikes later, the referee stepped in to wave off the contest just 15 seconds into Round 2.
With the finish, Rafael Fiziev improves to 8-5 inside the Octagon and 14-5 as a professional. The victory also ends a rough run in which “Ataman” had gone just 1-4 in his previous five outings and marks a successful rebound from his loss to Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 325 earlier this year.
