Rafael Fiziev criticizes Khabib Nurmagomedov’s fighting style: “I was never his fan”

UFC lightweight contender Rafael Fiziev explained why he did not enjoy watching Khabib Nurmagomedov fight, saying that “I was never his fan.”

Fiziev is one of the top strikers in the UFC lightweight division and he just put on a show against veteran Bobby Green at UFC 265. In a three-round war, Fiziev outpointed Green to take home the decision and improve to 4-1 in the UFC. The pair of fighters also took home $50,000 each for “Fight of the Night.” The talented Fiziev is quickly closing in on the top-15 of the UFC lightweight division and could potentially make an even bigger push should he be able to get a fight against one of the top dogs in the division. And even though he’s retired now, there’s no bigger fish in the sea than the former champion Nurmagomedov.

Speaking to MMA journalist James Lynch in a recent interview, Fiziev admitted he was never a fan of Nurmagomedov, explaining that he found his style uninteresting to watch. The striker took another shot at elite wrestlers when he said that he also does not enjoy watching Islam Makhachev fight, suggesting that his fight against Drew Dober was boring.

“I was never his fan because we have different styles. We have big different styles. I’m a striker and he’s a wrestler. In wrestling, he’s very hard and you can win against everyone with his wrestling that Khabib has, but I don’t like this style. I don’t like fights like when Islam Makhachev fought with Drew Dober (at UFC 259). Three rounds of just wrestling and nothing to show. He finished him, but it was a boring fight,” Fiziev said.

It will be interesting to see if Nurmagomedov or Makhachev see these comments and what they make of them. For Fiziev, he’s likely trying to make some noise and get a big fight.

Do you agree with Rafael Fiziev about his criticism of the styles that Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev employ?