Rafael Fiziev has disclosed that he lost vision in his left eye after the first round of his fight, seeing triple or quadruple whenever he opened it. Unable to see clearly, he reasoned that a spinning heel kick requires little visual tracking and decided to throw it at the start of round two. Fiziev confirmed he would not have attempted the kick had his eye not been impaired.
Rafael Fiziev has revealed a remarkable detail about his spinning heel kick knockout, disclosing that he had lost nearly all vision in his left eye before delivering the finish and that the impairment was actually the reason he threw the technique.
Fiziev, known as "Ataman," explained that after the first round he was seeing triple or quadruple images every time he opened his left eye. Facing the near-impossible task of tracking an opponent with severely distorted vision, the Kazakhstani striker arrived at an unconventional conclusion: a spinning heel kick demands far less visual precision than a conventional strike, making it one of the few weapons he felt he could deploy effectively. He confirmed he would not have attempted the kick under normal circumstances.
The 33-year-old lightweight holds a professional record of 14-5 and is currently ranked seventh in the UFC's 155-pound division. Fighting out of Tiger Muay Thai, Fiziev is one of the more dangerous strikers in a loaded lightweight class, averaging 4.71 significant strikes per minute at a 52 percent accuracy rate. Standing five-foot-eight with a 71-inch reach, he operates from a switch stance, which gives him the rotational leverage that makes kicks like the spinning heel a credible threat even under duress.
Why it matters
- Fiziev's ranking at number seven means a strong run of finishes keeps him within reach of a lightweight title eliminator bout.
- The revelation adds context to an already dramatic finish, underscoring how elite fighters adapt mid-fight under serious physical adversity.
- His striking-heavy style, with virtually no submission attempts on record, makes explosive one-shot finishes central to his path up the division.
