Rafael Fiziev says he is self-made, refuses to be called product of Kyrgyz MMA

Rafael Fiziev has rejected the label of being a product of Kyrgyz martial arts, stating he considers himself entirely self-developed. He also argued that Valentina Shevchenko, who trained in Kyrgyzstan for only five to six years before moving abroad, should not be considered a product of that school either. Fiziev praised rising Kyrgyz fighters Razhabali and Orolbay, calling Razhabali a once-in-a-generation phenomenon comparable to Justin Gaethje, Islam Makhachev, Khabib, and Jon Jones.