Valentina Shevchenko Referee’d Rafael Fiziev’s Combat Sports Debut When He Was 12

Rafael Fiziev took us down memory lane when he spoke about who was the referee for his combat sports debut when he was 12 years old.

During an appearance on The MMA Hour, Fiziev, who headlines UFC Vegas 58 this Saturday opposite Rafael dos Anjos, told the story of his first-ever Muay-Thai fight, which took place before he’d even hit his teen years.

“Twelve,” Fiziev said when asked how old he was for his debut fight. “My first fight opponent, around 18 or 19 years old.”

“I take a s***, man,” he continued, describing his nervousness. “I take a s***, this is my first fight. I take a s*** before the fight.”

Somehow, Fiziev competing at such a young age is not the most unbelievable part. Working as the referee for Fiziev’s fight was fellow Kyrgyz and future UFC star Valentina Shevchenko.

“She’s a good referee,” Fiziev said. “She put her finger in my mouth when she tried to separate us. I don’t know why. Because we fight like dogs, man. I remember her finger in my mouth and she went like [makes fish hook gesture].”

“I trained with her a long time ago, but I’m in Thailand, she’s in America, so we haven’t trained together in a long time ago,” Fiziev said. “But I sparred with her many times, when I was 14 years old I sparred with her the first time. … She spars hard.”

It was the only time that Shevchenko would referee one of his fights, but not the last time that Fiziev and “Bullet” would work together. The two later trained together in their native Kyrgyzstan, though both would eventually leave the country to join other camps.

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