Rafael Fiziev happy to show off cardio, wrestling in UFC on ESPN 39 finish of Rafael dos Anjos

LAS VEGAS – Rafael Fiziev passed multiple tests in his win at UFC on ESPN 39.

In his biggest challenge to date, Fiziev (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) finished former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos (31-14 MMA, 20-12 UFC) in the opening seconds of Round 5 in this past Saturday’s main event at the UFC Apex. The win marked Fiziev’s first scheduled five-round bout.

While he admits that he started to fade throughout the fight, he thinks the late finish proved that his cardio held up just fine.

“It’s a big difference, but yeah, I’m tired,” Fiziev told reporters at the UFC on ESPN 39 post-fight news conference. “I’m tired so much in the fight, but I make a finish in Round 5. This means something. Like I can fight five rounds.”

Fiziev also got to display his defensive wrestling where dos Anjos was credited for just two takedowns out of 16 attempts. But the Tiger Muay Thai fighter wasn’t surprised with his ability to stuff dos Anjos’ takedowns.

“My wrestling is not so bad like everyone thinks,” Fiziev said. “Because my wrestling, I make it every day. If somebody takes me down, I’m ready to stand up. He takes me down again, I’m ready to stand up again.”

He continued, “One year ago my wrestling was the same as now. I train wrestling every day. Like four or five times a week I’m going to wrestling and yeah, I wrestle all week. That’s why I never forget about it.”