Rafael Fiziev scoffs at Conor McGregor ‘fantasy movie’ suggestion for modifying axe-kick; McGregor responds

Rafael Fiziev wants to remind Conor McGregor that real life striking is a lot different than the movies.

Ahead of his headlining bout with Rafael dos Anjos on Saturday at UFC Vegas 58, Fiziev found himself in a lively Twitter discussion with “The Notorious” after McGregor commented on a tweet that featured Fiziev in action.

In the clip, Fiziev is shown dodging strikes with his signature lean back, a defensive strategy McGregor said could be countered with a modified axe-kick.

Fiziev responded to McGregor with a quote tweet and later elaborated on the exchange during an appearance on The MMA Hour on Wednesday.

“I don’t feel like it was disrespectful,” Fiziev said. He was also treated with respect. I have always spoken highly of him. This guy does a lot for MMA, for this industry, and this guy is a big name and I always respect him. But I don’t know why he doesn’t like my lean back.

“He talks about it all the time. He started talking about it before my fight with Moicano. I respect him and I’m really inviting him to my gym, to Tiger Muay Thai, to show him how to kick, show him good training.”

McGregor kept tweeting at Fiziev. He replied to the first “fantasy” comment with a pointed out that Fiziev is in “penetrable .”

defense”.

The two appeared to end their conversation amicably, though McGregor snuck in a jab by writing, “Don’t disrespect you are yet to do anything significant in this sport” while Fiziev added that training at his Tiger Muay Thai gym would be “much better camp than you had in Dubai before.”

Fiziev was joking about McGregor’s criticism and suggested that McGregor might be dreaming if his suggestions have practical merit.

“You see the movie Interstellar? … It’s a fantasy movie,” Fiziev said. It’s not true. They go to another planet. It is fantasy land. How? When I lean back, this is my reaction to a high kick. If he does an axe-kick, I have a different reaction. This is not for very high kicks. I never lean back when somebody does an axe-kick.

“You cannot change if you start the high kick and halfway you’re gonna change to an axe-kick. What is the best way to do this? Bro, this is crazy.”

Fiziev emphasized how much respect he has for McGregor and made it clear his offer to have McGregor train with him is genuine.

“It’s just facts,” he said. “It’s always respect, it’s not disrespect. I always talk with respect. He is a great friend of mine and I know it will be an enjoyable experience for him to visit Tiger Muay Thai .

When Fiziev was asked if McGregor might be in his cage, he said that it would only occur if McGregor can get past dos Anjos on Saturday. Fiziev is a five-time winner, with two victories by stunning knockout. A win against a UFC champ could propel him to title contention.

With a loss, he can see himself being matched up against McGregor, who has just one win since 2016.

“Maybe he sees me an opponent,” Fiziev said. “That’s why he starts talking about my lean back from a long time ago.”

“He said that he believes that if I lose to RDA, the fight won’t take place. McGregor [to happen]. must lose. I don’t understand .”

UPDATE: Well, this escalated.