John
Brannigan/Sherdog.com illustration
Rafael
Fiziev reminded the world that he’s still capable of looking
like one of the world’s most dangerous strikers.
After losing four of his last five Octagon appearances, “Ataman”
returned to form in the
UFC Baku headliner, vanquishing Rafael Torres with a spinning
wheel kick and follow-up punches 15 seconds into Round 2 of their
lightweight clash at National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The Tiger Muay Thai standout’s difficult stretch included a knee
injury suffered in a loss to Mateusz
Gamrot that sidelined him for all of 2024 and a pair of defeats
at the hands of current lightweight king Justin
Gaethje. By stopping a surging contender in the previously
13th-ranked Torres, Fiziev showed he still belongs in the 155-pound
rankings. He returns to the lightweight poll at No. 14.
Meanwhile, Asu
Almabayev won his third straight outing, submitting Charles
Johnson with a third-round kneebar in a featured flyweight
affair at UFC Baku. Almabayev’s promotional resume includes a 7-1
overall record, with his lone loss coming against top contender
Manel
Kape. As a result of his latest effort, “Zulfikhar” climbs to
11th in the latest 125-pound poll, while Johnson drops to 15th.
Elsewhere, Liz
Carmouche continues to age like a fine wine. “Girl-Rilla”
submitted fellow
Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Viviane
Araujo with a guillotine choke in the second round of the
PFL San Diego co-main event. The 42-year-old former Bellator
MMA title holder has won four straight under the
Professional Fighters League banner and six of her last seven
overall. She maintains her No. 8 ranking, one spot behind Taila
Santos, the only person in the league to defeat her. A shot at
the vacant flyweight title would make sense for Carmouche, though
the veteran chose to instead lobby for the creation of a
bantamweight division with her post-fight microphone time.
Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.
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