UFC Baku has its main event, and it stars Azerbaijani fighter Rafael Fiziev.
The No. 11 ranked lightweight Fiziev will face the dangerous unranked Manuel Torres, who is 4-1 over his last five with all wins coming via first round KO. “Ataman” holds the reverse record: 1-4 over his past five, but those losses against top names like Justin Gaethje (twice), Mateusz Ganrot, and Mauricio Ruffy. Fiziev’s last win came in Baku, Azerbaijan last year against Ignacio Bahamondes.
Fiziev came into the UFC looking
like a wrecking ball but a series of knee injuries has slowed the fighter down and this five round main event in his father’s home country may be the last chance he has to prove he can still hang at 155 pounds or if a move to 145 is needed. A win could push him back into the top ten. A loss could drop him out of the rankings completely.
UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs. Torres goes down June 27th, 2026 from the 10,000 seat National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan. It’s the second event the UFC has held in the country after a June 2025 event headlined by Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree.
Here’s the full UFC Baku card as it sits now:
Rafael Fiziev vs. Manuel Torres
Shara “Bullet” Magomedov vs. Michel Pereira
Marvin Vettori vs. Ismail Naurdiev
Brunno Ferreira vs. Ikram Aliskerov
Asu Almabayev vs. Charles Johnson
Michal Oleksiejczuk vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov
Nursulton Ruziboev vs. Andrey Pulyaev
Julius Walker vs. Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev
Bekzat Almakhan vs. Jean Matsumoto
