Rafael Fiziev Rejects Label as Product of Kyrgyz MMA, Calls Himself Self-Made

Rafael Fiziev has stated he does not consider himself a product of the Kyrgyz martial arts system, describing himself as entirely self-made. He also argued that Valentina Shevchenko, who trained in Kyrgyzstan for only five or six years before moving abroad, should not be labeled a product of that school either. Fiziev praised fighters such as Razhababali and Orolbai as genuine phenomena while attributing their rise to natural attributes rather than a national system.