The UFC’s number six ranked lightweight, Rafael Fisiev, says he wasn’t hurt by the words of current division champion Islam Makhachev, who suggested in an interview that “The Ataman” would never be in the top three, in part because of a gap in his wrestling skills.
“He can’t hurt me, because I don’t expect anything from him,” Fiziev said in the interview Sport24. “We can listen to him because he is a champion, this is a man who has proved a lot”
“Now I will fight Mateusz Gamrot, a grappler, an elite level fighter, and I myself wonder if I can stop him, if I can stop a fight of this level. If we stop him, we will show everybody, including Islam, that I can fight, I can stop guys with good wrestling. Basically, I fought Moicano, who is also with good grappling, good wrestling, subbed everybody. He went to bed, too. So we’ll see.”
In a side-by-side interview with The Schmo Channel, Fiziev shared his opinion on the upcoming title rematch between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira, which headlines UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi on October 21.
“I’m betting on Islam, but Oliveira is still a very dangerous guy. He’s an elite grappler, an elite wrestler, with very good striking. However, I’m betting on Islam because his style is the most uncomfortable for Oliveira.”
Ataman expressed doubts that the Russian fighter could move up to welterweight.
“I don’t believe he’ll move up to 77 kg, because it’s very important for them to leave behind an advantage in size, in weight, in strength, when you’re a little bit more down, and your tactics work better”
Recall that the lightweight fight between Rafael Fisieff and Mateusz Gamrot will be the main event of UFC Fight Night 228, which will take place on September 23 in Las Vegas.
Source: https://fighttime.ru/news/item/32670-rafael-fiziev-otreagiroval-na-kritiku-islama-makhacheva.html?rand=19907
