Rafael Dos Anjos issues statement following knockout loss to Rafael Fiziev at UFC Vegas 58

Rafael dos Anjos couldn’t halt the momentum of Rafael Fiziev but he is gracious in defeat.

In the main event of UFC Vegas 58, dos Anjos went one-on-one with Fiziev inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fiziev scored the fifth-round knockout victory seemingly out of nowhere.

Fiziev was the number 10-ranked UFC lightweight, while dos Anjos held the number seven spot going into the bout.

After the fight, dos Anjos took to his Twitter account to send a congratulatory message to Rafael Fiziev.

Congrats @RafaelFiziev great win. It was a fun one…you caught me good on that one. Enjoy your victory.

— Rafael dos Anjos (@RdosAnjosMMA) July 10, 2022

“Congrats @RafaelFiziev great win. It was a fun one…you caught me good on that one. Enjoy your victory.”

Fiziev paid it forward with a kind message of his own.

It was an honor 🙏🏼

— Rafael “Ataman” Fiziev (@RafaelFiziev) July 10, 2022

“It was an honor.”

Where dos Anjos goes from here has been talked about within the MMA community. While he always seems to bounce back from his losses before things get out of hand, the 45-fight veteran will be turning 38 in October and has nothing left to prove.

As for Fiziev, he’s on the rise in the UFC lightweight division. He has won six fights in a row and hasn’t been beaten since his lone career defeat to Magomed Mustafaev back in April 2019.

Fiziev has now beaten the likes of dos Anjos, Bobby Green, Brad Riddell, and Renato Moicano. After his victory over dos Anjos, “Ataman” called for a top-five opponent and later name-dropped Justin Gaethje during the post-fight press conference.

“Yeah, you know I want to fight with Gaethje,” Fiziev told reporters at the UFC on ESPN 39 post-fight news conference. “… Gaethje, if you want to fight, one more yellow guy with yellow hairs (Charles Oliveira), we need to know who’s best.

“That’s a good match for you and me. If you’re ready, and you’re not scared, don’t talk sh*t and let’s go.” (via MMAJunkie).