Rafael Fiziev Takes Tough Loss After Knee Gives Out vs. Gamrot

Anytime the UFC decides to have a fight night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, there will always be an element of weirdness. The facility isn’t a place where a lot of MMA news sites want to see fights held because it can only hold a limited crowd of people. People who watched the card headlined by Rafael Fiziev and Mateusz Gamrot may be interested in a refund for the disaster of a card they witnessed Saturday night.

The main event between two top lightweight contenders, Fiziev and  Gamrot, ended because of a stoppage due to injury. There were also a few moments, including one fighter talking about the world ending, one fight ending due to disqualification, and there were several uninspiring fights as well to start the night. There weren’t many big winners Saturday night, but here’s a look at some essential things to know.

Technical Battle Ends Tragically

Fiziev, the No. 8 lightweight, will likely have to take some time off from the octagon following his loss to Gamrot. During the second round of their bout, Fiziev attempted to throw a body kick at Gamrot, who parried the shot with his elbow. When Fiziev brought his kicking leg back down, his plant leg buckled.

Fiziev immediately dropped to the mat, and Gamrot rushed in for ground-and-pound. Referee Herb Dean quickly stepped in to stop the fight 2 minutes 3 seconds into the second round in what would be ruled a TKO via knee injury. The latest MMA updates don’t have Fiziev’s official diagnosis yet, but he was forced to leave the octagon immediately following the fight. 

Fiziev is now 12-3 in his career and will look to get back to training to halt his now two-fight losing streak. Gamrot is currently 23-2 and has won six of his last seven fights.

Mitchell Returns With Big Decision

Bryce Mitchell may one day challenge for a featherweight championship. But his win last Saturday may be more remembered for his bizarre behavior than his comfortable win over Dan Ige. On the way to the octagon, Mitchell carried a Bible with him.

After the fight, Mitchell held the Bible and shouted “freedom” in the middle of the octagon. After the ring announcer announced the score was in his favor, Mitchell asked Ige to stay with him during the interview. Mitchell then floated a conspiracy theory about the recent fires in Hawaii being caused by Satan.

Karate Hottie Takes a Beating

The “Karate Hottie” Michelle Waterson-Gomez struggled during her women’s strawweight rematch with Marina Rodrigez. Waterson-Gomez, No. 12 in the rankings, had a hard time handling the strong striking of Rodriguez.

Rodriguez softened up Waterson with knees and elbows that nearly stopped the fight in the first round. Rodriguez, the No. 8 contender, would end up mounting Waterson-Gomez and finishing the fight via ground and pound. Waterson-Gomez, 37, has lost six of her past seven fights since October 2019.

Battle Establishes Himself as Welterweight Contender

Bryan Battle will be showing up on many MMA news sites if the 29-year-old can keep stringing together intense fights. Battle was able to out-grapple A.J. Fletcher. When the fight hit the mat, Battle was able to quickly scramble on top to sink in a rear-naked choke with 28 seconds left in the second round. 

Battle is now 10-2 in his career, including 5-1 in the UFC. Back in May, Battle knocked out Gabriel Green in 14 seconds. Fletcher now has to worry about being cut, as he has lost three of his first four fights on the UFC main roster.

Jourdain Opened Main Card with Impressive Submission

Some thought Brazilian Ricardo Ramos’ wrestling would trouble Canadian striker Charles Jourdain. But Jourdain was more than game for a battle on the ground. Jourdain was able to sink in a guillotine early in the second round and would ultimately force Ramos to tap out.

Malkoun Bows Chance at a Victory

Jacob Malkoun was dominating his middleweight fight with Cody Brundage late in the first round when he hurt himself with poor decision-making. Malkoun had ended up in the top position following a scramble. During the battle on the ground, Malkoun used hammer fists to wear down Brundage.

Several strikes prompted referee Mark Smith to warn Malkoun that they were hitting Brundage in the back of the head, which is illegal. Malkoun landed a vicious elbow from the top position late in the first round that hit Brundage in the back of the head, and Smith immediately ruled it an illegal strike.

After Smith went to the monitor for a replay, he called it a disqualification victory for Brundage with 45 seconds left in the first round.

Eye Poke Swings Momentum of Collier-Usman Fight

Even the best MMA news sites need help getting excited about the current state of the UFC heavyweight division. A fight between Jake Collier and Mohammed Usman was negatively impacted by an eye poke in the second round.

After a first round where Collier won on two of the judges’ three scorecards, the fight was halted a minute into the second round after Collier had his eye inadvertently poked by Usman. The doctor came into the octagon and nearly stopped the fight. However, Collier decided to fight again.

He didn’t look the same after the eye poke. Usman could keep up his consistent striking and would grind out a decision victory.

Best of the rest

Miles Johns won the featured preliminary fight over Dan Argueta by relying on his striking. Johns won the fight primarily thanks to his power and kept Argueta’s grappling at bay for most of the fight.

Here are the results from the other fights not mentioned above:

• Welterweight: Tim Means won by TKO via punches over Andre Fialho, 1:15 third round.
• Women’s strawweight: Mizuki Inoue defeats Hannah Goldy by decision, 29-28 (x3)
• Women’s strawweight: Montserrat Rendon defeats Tamires Vidal by split decision, 29-28, 28-29, 29-28

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