Rafael Fiziev (©UFC)

Rafael “Ataman” Fiziev, 27, of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan was one of the winners at “UFC 256.” It marked the Kyrgyzstani mixed martial artist’s third victory in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Featuring 10 MMA matches, “UFC 256” took place at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on December 12, 2020. In the first bout of the evening, Fiziev fought Renato “Moicano” Carneiro, 31, of Brasilia, Federal District, Brazil in the lightweight division.

Chris Tognoni served as the referee. He put a stop to the lightweight contest after 4 minutes and 5 seconds in the first round when Fiziev knocked out Carneiro.

It was the sixth time Fiziev knocked out an opponent in a professional MMA bout. Winning at “UFC 256” improved his professional MMA record to 9 wins and 1 loss.

Fighting professionally since 2015, Fiziev joined the UFC in 2019. In his promotional debut, which was at “UFC Fight Night 149” on April 20, 2019, he was knocked out by Magomed Mustafaev, 31, of Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia.

On October 26, 2019, Fiziev earned his first UFC win by defeating Alex “The Spartan” White, 32, of Fredericktown, Missouri, USA via unanimous decision at “UFC Fight Night 162.” On July 19, 2020, the Bishkek native defeated Marc “Bonecrusher” Diakiese, 27, of the Democratic Republic of the Congo via unanimous decision at “UFC Fight Night 172” on Yas Island, United Arab Emirates.

Losing to Fiziev at “UFC 256” downgraded Carneiro’s professional MMA record to 14 wins and 4 losses. The Brazilian MMA fighter has been competing in the UFC since 2014.

Six countries were represented at “UFC 256” namely Brazil, Canada, France, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico and the U.S. Fiziev solely represented Kyrgyzstan while Carneiro was one of the six fighters who represented Brazil.