Rafael Fiziev

Rafael Fiziev returns in December against Brad Riddell

A lightweight scrap between two elite strikers has been added to a December Fight Night card as Rafael Fiziev is set to face Brad Riddell.

According to MMAJunkie, Fiziev, and Riddell have verbally agreed to fight one another on December 4. Contracts have not been issued or signed at this time. The event will likely take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, but that has not been confirmed.

Rafael Fiziev (10-1) is coming off a Fight of the Night decision win over Bobby Green at UFC 265 in August. Prior to that, the 13th-ranked lightweight knocked out Renato Moicano in the first round at UFC 256. He also beat Marc Diakese and Alex White by decision to kick off his four-fight winning streak. The 28-year-old lost his UFC debut by highlight-reel TKO to Magomed Mustafaev after starting out his career 6-0 where he competed for promotions like Road FC and Titan FC.

Brad Riddell (10-1) is the 12th-ranked lightweight and is coming off a Fight of the Night decision win over Drew Dober at UFC 263. It was his first fight since UFC 253 where he beat Alex da Silva by decision to extend his winning streak to seven. The 29-year-old is 4-0 in the UFC with his other two wins being decision victories over Magomed Mustafaev and Jamie Mullarkey. The City Kickboxing fighter also holds a notable win over Song Yadong on the regional scene.

This is a phenomenal fight between two of the more underrated strikers in the lightweight division. The winner of Fiziev vs. Riddell on December 4 will likely get a step-up in competition and face someone inside the top-10 of the stacked lightweight division.

With the addition of Fiziev vs. Riddell, the December 4 Fight Night card is as follows:

  • Alex Perez vs. Matt Schnell
  • Claudio Puelles vs. Chris Gruetzemacher
  • Rafael Fiziev vs. Brad Riddell
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Cole Shelton
Cole Shelton covers MMA for BJPenn.com, MMANews, and MyMMANews.com while also being the lead MMA odds writer for Sports Betting Dime