Rafael Fiziev may still have been a kid in his first fight, but he isn’t likely to ever forget the circumstances.
During an appearance on The MMA Hour , Fiziev told his story about his first ever muay Thai bout, and it took place in his teen years.
“Twelve,” Fiziev said when asked how old he was for his debut fight. “My first fight opponent, around 18 or 19 years old.”
“I have to take a man ***,,” he said, explaining his nervousness. “I take a s***, this is my first fight. Before the fight .”
, I took a s***.
It isn’t the most amazing part of this story that Fiziev competes at such an early age.
Fiziev was refereed by Valentina Shevchenko, a future UFC fighter and fellow Kyrgyz.
Fiziev remembers Shevchenko being no nonsense when it came to enforcing the rules. At one point, she had to get physical with “Ataman” to set he and his opponent straight.
“She is a great referee,” Fiziev stated. “She put her finger in my mouth when she tried to separate us. I don’t know why. Because we fight like dogs, man. She went like [makes fish hook gesture].”
, I think.
It was the only time that Shevchenko would referee one of his fights, but not the last time that Fiziev and “Bullet” would work together. They trained in Kyrgyzstan together, but both left the country for other opportunities.
Unsurprisingly, Fiziev speaks highly of the intensity that Shevchenko brought to their sparring sessions.
” I trained with her long ago but she is in America and I am in Thailand so we haven’t trained together for a while,” Fiziev stated. She said, “But she sparred with me many times. I first sparred with them when I was 14 old.” … She spars hard.”
