Rafael Fiziev is a Muslim mixed martial arts athlete who used to represent Kyrgyzstan in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
The athlete made his debut as an MMA fighter in 2015. He has fought in the South-Korean-based promotion ROAD FC, and the American promotion Titan FC.
Rafael Ataman made his UFC debut on April 20, 2019, against the Russian martial artist Magomed Mustafaev. He is currently ranked No. 10 in the UFC Lightweight.
In his professional career, Ataman has won 39 kickboxing matches and 11 out of 12 MMA fights. He proudly fought under Kyrgyzstan flag in the UFC for many years. However, he withdrew from representing his homeland in 2021.
Rafael Fiziev Religion – Is He Muslim?
The MMA fighter Rafael is a Shia Muslim and he has sheer respect for his religion.
Rafael leaves no stone unturned to teach and spread knowledge of Islamic values. He regularly shares his training, fights, and motivational Islamic quotes on Instagram.
In 2021, the UFC champion announced that he will no longer be representing Kyrgyzstan and he also has planned to move out of the country.
He posted a video on his Instagram about how he and his family had been facing constant harassment from the muftiyat and some reputed people from the country. The possible reason for the harassment could be discrimination against Shia Muslims in the country.
Following his official declaration, Fiziev removed the flag of Kyrgyzstan from his Instagram bio as well as from UFC intros.
Rafael Fiziev: Family Of The MMA Fighter
Rafael is very close to his family from the start and spends most of his time during his free time.
Fiziev was drawn to fighting when his father and cousins bought him boxing gloves when he was a child. He took Muay Thai training when he was just 11. Growing up, he also trained in sambo, boxing, wrestling, and Jiu-Jitsu.
The MMA athlete worked as a police officer for a month after graduating from the Police Academy of Kyrgyzstan.
While he was a resident in Phuket, Thailand, Fiziev trained with Tiger Muay Thai and Phuket’s Top Team. He currently trains with the Florida-based gym Sanford MMA.
Rafael is currently married and has two kids. His family’s security and future are of great concern to him. So he tries to keep his family life personal whenever possible.
Rafael Fiziev Ethnicity
The popular fighter Fiziev was born in Kazakhstan to a family of mixed ethnicity.
Rafael’s father was an Azerbaijani who was a police officer working for the drug trafficking combat division. His mother was a Russian and Fiziev grew up as a Kyrgyzstani citizen.
Recently, the UFC fighter announced that he has partnered with the Islamic Sciences and community leader Sayed Hussain Makke to launch natural herbal remedies for illness. His venture Wilaya Wellness offers multi-vitamins, oregano oil, black seed oil, and so on for healing and boosting immunity.