Rafael Fiziev, Marc Diakiese (©UFC)

Rafael “Ataman” Fiziev, 27, of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan earned his second victory in the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Kyrgyzstani mixed martial artist was one of the “UFC Fight Night 172” winners.

Also called “UFC on ESPN+ 30,” “UFC Fight Night 172” featured 12 MMA matches on the UFC Fight Island on Yas Island on July 19, 2020 in the UAE or July 18, 2020 in the United States. Fiziev fought Marc “Bonecrusher” Diakiese, 27, who was fighting out of the Democratic Republic of the Congo by way of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England.

Diakiese and Fiziev battled it out in the lightweight division. It was the 10th bout on the card and was refereed by Rich Mitchell.

After three five-minute bouts, the lightweight contest was left in the hands of the three judges. Two judges saw it 29-28 and one judge scored it 30-27 all in favor of the fighter in the blue corner.

In the end, Mitchell raised the hand of Fiziev. The Kyrgyzstani MMA fighter was declared the winner via unanimous decision.

This is the second time Fiziev won a professional MMA bout via unanimous decision. Winning at “UFC Fight Night 172” improved the Bishkek native’s professional MMA record to 7 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. He defeated Alex “The Spartan” White, 32, of Fredericktown, Missouri, USA via unanimous decision at “UFC Fight Night 162.”

Losing to Fiziev at “UFC Fight Night 172” downgraded Diakiese’s professional MMA record to 14 wins and 3 losses. The Congolese-English MMA fighter has been competing in the UFC since 2016.

“UFC Fight Night 172” was the third UFC event to take place on the UFC Fight Island during the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. A total of 17 countries were represented namely Armenia, Brazil, Canada, the DR Congo, England, Georgia, Iraq, Ireland, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, the U.S. and Wales.

Fiziev solely represented Kazakhstan while Diakiese was the sole representative of the DR Congo and one of the three representatives of England. The two won the Performance of the Night bonuses.