Fiziev's wheel kick floors Torres in second round at UFC Fight Night Baku

Rafael Fiziev stopped Manuel Torres with a spinning wheel kick and follow-up ground punches just 15 seconds into the second round to claim the UFC Fight Night 280 main event at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan on Saturday. The finish improved Fiziev’s UFC record to 8-5, while Torres falls to 5-2 inside the organisation.

Fiziev was the aggressor from the opening bell, targeting Torres repeatedly with punishing leg kicks throughout the first round. Torres offered sporadic counters and landed a stiff jab that briefly commanded Fiziev’s attention, but he could not sustain any meaningful pressure. Early in the second, Fiziev landed a perfectly timed wheel kick that sat Torres down, then followed immediately with a crushing right cross. A barrage of hammerfists sealed the stoppage.

In the co-main event, Sharabutdin Magomedov earned a unanimous decision over Michel Pereira in their three-round middleweight contest, with all three judges scoring it 29-28 for Magomedov. Pereira had arguably his best moment in the first round, flooring Magomedov with a straight right and following up with ground-and-pound that bloodied the Russian’s nose. However, Pereira’s output faded sharply over the final two rounds as his conditioning became a factor. Magomedov exploited the drop-off by targeting Pereira’s body and legs with kicks while staying out of danger. The 32-year-old has now won back-to-back bouts since his February 2025 defeat to Michael Page.

Further down the main card, Matheus Camilo produced the upset of the night by stopping the favoured Nazim Sadykhov with punches 1:31 into the first round of their lightweight bout. Camilo drew Sadykhov into exchanges with inside leg kicks before landing a straight right that buckled the Azerbaijani. Hammerfists brought the referee in, handing Sadykhov a second consecutive defeat. The 25-year-old Camilo has now won eight of his last nine fights.

Also on the card, former M-1 Global champion Asu Almabayev submitted Charles Johnson with a Suloev stretch kneebar 3:33 into the third round of their flyweight contest. It was the first submission loss of Johnson’s 28-fight professional career.