"Stop living in fantasy world" - When Rafael Fiziev's attempt to one-up Conor McGregor at trash-talk blatantly backfired 

Rafael Fiziev is one of the most exciting strikers in the UFC lightweight division. He boasts a stellar record of 12 wins and just two losses, with his most recent defeat coming at the hands of former interim lightweight champion and current 'BMF' titleholder Justin Gaethje.

However, Gaethje isn't the only former UFC titleholder with whom Fiziev has clashed. Conor McGregor is another, except instead of doing so inside the octagon, the two men traded barbs on social media due to their different takes on the art of striking and specifically, Fiziev's defense against roundhouse kicks.

The former Muay Thai champion is known for pulling back at the waist to lean away from high kicks, causing his foe's kicking leg to swing through the empty air above his head. According to Conor McGregor, changing a roundhouse kick mid-motion into an axe kick could make Fiziev pay for this tendency.

However, the mechanical action of changing a roundhouse kick into an axe kick mid-motion is nearly impossible, as noted by Fiziev, who invited McGregor to train with him so that he could show him that such a move is only possible in a fantasy land. A fantasy land he claimed the Irishman was a resident of!

The former UFC double champion, however, did not take his rostermate's insults lying down. He accepted his training invitation before warning Rafael Fiziev against disrespecting him by pointing out that he has yet to achieve anything of significance in MMA.

With Rafael Fiziev set to take on Matesuz Gamrot this Saturday at UFC Fight Night 228, McGregor will likely pay attention to the bout, ready to take aim at Fiziev on X/Twitter should he lose.

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Why doesn't Rafael Fiziev represent his birth country of Kyrgyzstan?

Kyrgyzstan is a country that's quickly come under the MMA spotlight due to the success enjoyed by former women's flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko, who once served as the referee for Rafael Fiziev's first-ever kickboxing bout when he was just 12 years old before training with him when he was 14.

Despite sharing the same homeland, only Shevchenko represents Kyrgyzstan. Fiziev, a devout Shia Muslim, instead represents his father's country of Azerbaijan, having made the decision in 2021 due to Kyrgyzstan's religious discrimination against Shia Muslims.