Rafael Fiziev says he is a product of himself, not Kyrgyz MMA

Rafael Fiziev has rejected the label of being a product of Kyrgyz combat sports, saying he considers himself self-made and does not credit the country's MMA scene for his development. He praised fellow fighters Razhababli and Orolbay as genuine phenoms while noting that figures such as Valentina Shevchenko trained in Kyrgyzstan only briefly before moving on. Fiziev also described Justin Gaethje as a uniquely gifted fighter, likening his striking to "two knives."