Ignacio Bahamondes promises fireworks against Rafael Fiziev: 'I'm willing to die in there'
Bahamondes (17-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) meets Fiziev (12-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) in Saturday's co-main event (ABC, ESPN, ESPN+) at Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan.
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With Fiziev coming from a muay Thai background, and eight of his 12 professional wins coming by knockout, Bahamondes guarantees a banger of a fight – but plans on showing he's a different level.
"Fiziev is a striker just like me," Bahamondes told MMA Junkie. "I think wherever he is good, I'm way better than him. On the ground, after my fight with Jalin Turner, my ground game has been exceeding its limit. My ground game is every time more dangerous, but I would love to take this fight to the three rounds. I would like to dominate my opponent for three rounds so I have time to show everything I got, everything I got in my arsenal, and take him to school for three rounds.
"It's going to be fireworks for three rounds, five minutes, whatever the fight lasts. It's going to be fireworks. You know Fiziev doesn't play, he goes to fight, and you know I don't play either. I'm going to stand in there, and I'm going to try and finish him. So, it's going to be exciting to see that fight how it goes because I'm willing to die in there. So, I hope he's there and ready to die, too."
A win over Fiziev will give Bahamondes an opportunity to enter the UFC's lightweight rankings, and he has big goals should things go according to plan.
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"I think I deserve a top 10, and after this fight, it's going to be the beginning of my title run," Bahamondes said.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Baku: Ignacio Bahamondes 'willing to die' vs. Rafael Fiziev
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