Rafael Fiziev secured a knockout victory with a spinning heel kick, his second such finish in the UFC following an earlier stoppage of Riddle and now Torres. Fiziev was dealing with blurred vision heading into the second round after taking a jab to the eye but chose to throw the spinning strike anyway and connected cleanly. He called out the BMF title in his post-fight interview and earned a performance bonus.
Rafael Fiziev made history on June 27 by recording his second UFC knockout finish via spinning heel kick, becoming the only fighter in the promotion to pull off the spectacular technique twice. The Kazakhstani lightweight dispatched Torres in the manner, mirroring an earlier finish of Riddle, and earned a performance bonus for the effort.
What makes the victory even more remarkable is the context in which it was delivered. Fiziev entered the second round with blurred vision after absorbing a jab to the eye, yet he committed to the spinning heel kick regardless, landing it cleanly enough to close the show.
The 33-year-old Tiger Muay Thai product carries a 14-5-0 professional record and sits at number seven in the lightweight division. Standing five-foot-eight with a 71-inch reach, Fiziev is one of the more technically creative strikers in the weight class, averaging 4.71 significant strikes landed per minute at a 52 percent striking accuracy rate. Those numbers reflect a fighter who is both busy and precise, a combination that has made his trademark spinning technique all the more dangerous when opponents believe they have disrupted his rhythm.
In his post-fight interview, Fiziev called for a shot at the BMF belt, making his ambitions for a marquee matchup clear to the promotion.
Why it matters
- Fiziev's unique two-finish spinning heel kick record strengthens his case for a high-profile assignment, including the BMF title he openly targeted.
- Ranked seventh at lightweight, a BMF title opportunity or a top-five matchup would represent a significant step toward a potential title shot.
- His willingness to uncork a high-risk technique while impaired by an eye injury signals the kind of crowd-pleasing aggression that tends to attract promotional attention.
