Rafael Fiziev gets candid about unfulfilling past in law enforcement
Rafael Fiziev once worked as a police officer in Kyrgyzstan but quickly grew disillusioned with work in law enforcement due to alleged government corruption.
Rafael Fiziev made a recent on The Ariel Helwani Show, where he discussed numerous topics, including his previous profession as an undercover police officer in Kyrgyzstan. However, the UFC lightweight striking dynamo ultimately found that life in law enforcement was not for him.
Rafael Fiziev gets honest about his undercover police past
Law enforcement was almost a family tradition for Rafael Fiziev, who once followed in his father's footsteps by becoming an undercover police officer like him. Unfortunately, the job was not what he had anticipated, as he claims to have encountered significant corruption that eventually drove him to resign after just a few months. When asked by Ariel Helwani about his experience in law enforcement, Fiziev said the following (12:23):
"Not a long time, bro. A couple of months, because I finished police academy, I going to work and I see all of this bullsh*t in the Kyrgyzstan police. Yeah, I see it is nothing. Zero justice. Yeah, zero justice and, like, 100% corruption. So, I say, like, 'What the f*ck? I don't want to be here."
Fortunately for Fiziev, he found a new life in combat sports. He became a Muay Thai sensation before ultimately transitioning to MMA. He is now a UFC lightweight mainstay and just bounced back from a 1-4 rough patch, including a crushing second-round TKO loss to Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 325. He defeated Manuel Torres at UFC Fight Night 280, knocking him out in round two to get back to winning ways. However, Fiziev isn't the only UFC fighter, past and present, to have worked on law enforcement, as there have been plenty of others.
Chris Daukaus, a former UFC fighter who competed in both the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions, was himself a police officer in Philadelphia before trading law enforcement for MMA. Unfortunately, he has struggled to find success on the combat sports front. Daukaus parted ways with the UFC after a four-fight losing streak, but then lost his next fight outside of the UFC in a three-round unanimous decision loss to Tafon Nchukwi at Cage Fury FC 134.
There's also Marlon Moraes, an ex-UFC bantamweight title challenger who has since become a police officer in Davie, Florida.
