Surging UFC lightweight receives words of praise from former multi-divisional champion Henry Cejudo
Henry Cejudo is taking notice of a surging UFC lightweight contender who he believes has exceptional striking.
Cejudo uploaded a video to his YouTube channel where he broke down Rafael Fiziev's fighting style and what areas he could pose a threat to Justin Gaethje when they fight at UFC 286. He mentioned that the No.6 ranked lightweight has a great understanding of his striking and where his strengths are.
He said:
"The technique cause this is what makes [Rafael] Fiziev extremely extremely dangerous. The simple fact that this man has a certain twitch to him that sets him when he has the ability of covering distance to eventually landing something hard." [9:46 - 10:01]
'Triple C' brought up Fiziev's recent performances as an indicator of how great his technique is. Cejudo mentioned that 'Ataman's setup with his striking has been effective and could lead to future success in one of the most stacked divisions in the promotion, saying:
"If you have the ability to stop 'RDA' or [Renato] Moicano in the fashion that he did, it just lets you guys know that at 155lbs this guy right now in my eyes, nobody has striking, nobody has those twitches, nobody really understands the striking game like this man right here." [10:03 - 10:22]
It will be interesting to see what transpires when Fiziev fights 'The Highlight' at UFC 286. If he can defeat the former interim lightweight champion in decisive fashion, it'll be hard to deny that he is a top contender at 155lbs.
Check out the full video:
Henry Cejudo makes a request to Sean O'Malley ahead of his UFC return
Although it seems like Alajamin Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo is set for UFC 288 on May 6, the former two-division UFC champion is proceeding with caution as he prepares for his octagon return.
'Triple C' uploaded a video to his YouTube channel, where he announced that May 6 is currently the date that's targeted for the bantamweight title fight. Despite 'Funk Master's optimism that he'll be healthy for UFC 288, the Olympic gold medalist made a request to No.1 ranked bantamweight Sean O'Malley.
He said:
"Is Aljamain Sterling, is he ready? Does he really want that smoke? Cause quite frankly guys, I really don't think Aljamain Sterling wants that smoke, so at the same time, the only thing that I could say to Sean O'Malley, stay ready, stay prepared." [1:42 - 1:55]
It wouldn't be a difficult fight to sell to fans in the event that 'Sugar' is needed on short-notice as he and the former two-division UFC champion have gone back-and-forth on social media for years.