Rafael Fiziev rejects Kyrgyz MMA school label, praises Razhababli as a phenomenon

Rafael Fiziev stated that he considers himself self-made and does not regard himself as a product of Kyrgyzstan's MMA system, noting he has received too much negativity from the country to accept that label. He attributed the current rise of Kyrgyz fighters to the nation's culture, clean mountain environment, and natural physical resilience, while singling out Razhababli as a once-in-a-generation phenomenon with 100 percent finishes. Fiziev also placed Justin Gaethje in the same elite tier as Islam Makhachev, Khabib, and Jon Jones — fighters he believes are gifted with something special from birth.