The UFC lightweight contender extended his winning streak on Saturday night. Fiziev (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) defeated former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in the main event of UFC on ESPN 39. The official stoppage came 18 seconds into the fifth round. It was a competitive fight that seemed to favor Fiziev slightly for most of the match. In the first three rounds, dos Anjos (31-14 MMA, 20-12 UFC) tried to put Fiziev away, but was unsuccessful. The former champion struggled to get Fiziev to the mat, but had some success controlling Fiziev for periods of time against the cage. However, when the fight was on the feet, Fiziev seemed to connect more and overall command the fight in that area. In the fourth round, dos Anjos looked much better. He connected the clearest shots of the round and seemed to be more active on the feet. He also got a clean takedown and managed to get control time on Fiziev. Unfortunately for dos Anjos, the momentum he quickly acquired ended early in the fifth round. Fiziev cut the Brazilian with a left hook, dropped him and followed with a few shots to get the bout canceled. With this win, Fiziev’s momentum in the UFC continues to grow. The 29-year-old is on a six-fight winning streak that includes notable names like Bobby Green, Brad Riedel, Renato Moicano and now dos Anjos. Fiziev has only lost once in his entire professional MMA career, in his UFC debut in 2019. On the other hand, dos Anjos tasted his first loss since returning to lightweight. The former champion dropped from welterweight back to lightweight in late 2020. He defeated Paul Felder in his comeback and followed that up with a dominant decision win over Moicano. Dos Anjos is 3-3 in his last six outings. The latest UFC on ESPN 39 results include: Rafael Fiziev def. Rafael dos Anjos by knockout (punches) – Round 5, 0:18 Caio Borralho def. Armen Petrosyan by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) Said Nurmagomedov def. Douglas Silva de Andrade by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) Chase Sherman def. Jared Vanderaa by knockout (punches) – Round 3, 3:10 Aiemann Zahabi def. Ricky Turcios by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Def. Jamie Mullarkey. Michael Johnson by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) Cody Brundz. Tresean Gore by knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:50 Antonina Shevchenko def. Courtney Casey by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) David Onama def. Garrett Armfield via technical submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:13 Kennedy Nzechukwu def. Karl Roberson via TKO (elbows) – Round 3, 2:19 Saidyokub Kakhramonov def. Ronnie Lawrence by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
