Watch: Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan's hard sparring session with Rafael Fiziev

Rafael Fiziev was recently seen sparring with Petr Yan ahead of his UFC 265 showdown against Bobby Green.

In a video uploaded to YouTube, the Kyrgyzstani lightweight can be seen in a hard sparring session against 'No Mercy'.

Take a look at Petr Yan and Rafael Fiziev trading blows:

Rafael Fiziev is set to take on Bobby Green on the preliminary card at UFC 265 this Saturday.

Fiziev will be making his fifth octagon appearance on August 7 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

After suffering his first professional loss in his UFC debut against Magomed Mustafaev in 2019, the 28-year-old has put together a violent three-fight winning streak.

After picking up decision victories over Alex White and Marc Diakiese, 'Ataman' put the lightweight division on notice with a first-round knockout of Renato Moicano at UFC 256.

Green, meanwhile, will be looking to bounce back after dropping a unanimous decision against Thiago Moises at UFC Vegas 12 last October. Prior to that, Green had fought thrice in 2020, racking up wins against Clay Guida, Lando Vannata and Alan Patrick.

Petr Yan is expected to fight Aljamain Sterling at UFC 267

Petr Yan lost his UFC bantamweight strap to Aljamain Sterling via a DQ at UFC 259. Despite leading on the judges' scorecards, Yan illegally kneed a downed Sterling, sending him crashing to the floor.

Sterling was deemed unable to continue and the contest was halted just over four minutes into the fourth round. Sterling was declared the winner, becoming the first UFC champion to win the title via disqualification.

Since then 'No Mercy' has been vying for a rematch against Sterling while questioning his legitimacy as the bantamweight king.

The rivalry is likely to come to a decisive end as Petr Yan is expected to make a bid for the title at UFC 267. Revealing the news, Aljamain Sterling recently wrote on Twitter:

"October 30th in Abu Dhabi, all the talking ends! Sleepyhagen or Needleshaw, winner gets the next whooping after I put away Yan in 3! Only thing that matters in this sport is blue-collared hard-work! No Dana White Privileges ever given to me."

October 30th in Abu Dhabi, all the talking ends! Sleepyhagen or Needleshaw, winner gets the next whooping after I put away Yan in 3!-Only thing that matters in this sport is blue-collared hard-work! No Dana White Privileges ever given to me 💯#AndStill! #Georgia 🇬🇪 pic.twitter.com/BvkEaKfEgs

— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) July 24, 2021