Rafael Fiziev rejects label as product of Kyrgyz MMA school

Rafael Fiziev has firmly rejected being called a product of the Kyrgyz martial arts school, stating he considers himself self-made. Fiziev also declined to credit Valentina Shevchenko to the Kyrgyz system, noting her trainer Pavel Fedotov drew from Korean taekwondo and that she left Kyrgyzstan after only five or six years. He praised Kyrgyz fighters Razhabali and Orolbai as genuine phenomena, comparing Razhabali's unique qualities to those of Justin Gaethje, Islam Makhachev, Khabib, and Jon Jones.