Knockout! Fiziev Finishes Dos Anjos With Monster Left Hook

The battle of the Rafaels was as tough and grinding as expected, but in the end Rafael Fiziev was just too much for Rafael dos Anjos.

Rafael Fiziev and Rafael dos Anjos went to war for over 20 minutes, but in the end it was Fiziev that locked up a win just 18 seconds into the fifth round.

Fiziev caught dos Anjos with a massive left hook that dropped the tough Brazilian. Under the threat of more strikes, the ref was forced to step in and stop the fight.

Rafael dos Anjos started the fight strong as Fiziev was too worried about takedowns to focus on his own offensive striking. That allowed dos Anjos to control the opening minutes and land a number of good strikes. But once Fiziev shrugged off some takedowns and managed to power away from dos Anjos’s smothering cage pressure, he opened up and started unloading with his own combinations.

It was a close fight across four rounds, but it looked like Fiziev was more active with effective striking, while dos Anjos’s best moments were up against the fence without a whole lot of damage to show for it. Two judges had the fight three rounds to one for Fiziev, with the third judge splitting the bout two apiece.

In the end, the scorecards weren’t needed as Rafael Fiziev opened the fifth round with a flying knee attempt followed with a left hook that caught dos Anjos right on the jaw. Some may complain that the fight was stopped quickly from there, but it seemed clear that dos Anjos was out of it and would have continued to take damage.

Watch the highlights below: