Rinat Fakhretdinov wasn’t surprised by his 55-second finish against Kevin Lee.
On Saturday, July 1, the UFC Vegas 76 preliminary card ended with the UFC return of ‘The Motown Phenom.’ Unfortunately for Lee, Fakhretdinov had other plans and executed them perfectly, leading to a quick knockdown and a first-round guillotine choke win.
During the post-fight press conference, Fakhretdinov was asked about his impressive performance. He responded by saying:
“This is pretty much the fight I expected. It’s just customary for us in Russia that you don’t say anything until you do it, so you do more than you say. I was kinda keeping quiet, but this is exactly what I was planning for. I know a lot of people were saying I only have two boring fights, well, I hope that I proved myself and I changed that for you.”
Fakhretdinov holds a UFC record of 3-0 after his UFC Vegas 76 win. The 31-year-old Russian started his promotional tenure in June 2022, defeating Andreas Michailidis by unanimous decision. Six months later, he returned and made a statement by taking out Bryan Battle with another unanimous decision.
Rinat Fakhretdinov stops Kevin Lee in Round 1 🔥 #UFCVegas76 https://t.co/dwDZk4l82u
— bjpenndotcom (@bjpenndotcom) July 1, 2023
Rinat Fakhretdinov reveals when and who he would like to fight next
Rinat Fakhretdinov has solidified himself as a potential future title contender in the UFC welterweight division. The question is, what’s next for the well-rounded Moscow native? Before returning to the Octagon, Fakhretdinov needs some time to rest. He had this to say during the UFC Vegas 76 post-fight press conference:
“This camp was the best and the worst for me. It was the worst because I had a lot of injuries. I tore my chest pec, I had a problem with my knees, I also got sick at one point. There’s a lot of things I had to go through in this camp, so even though it was a good preparation, it was also very injury-prone preparations. I really wanna rest for a little while, go through all the doctor checkups, make sure that my body is fine.”
Fakhretdinov followed up with who he would like to fight next:
“When it comes to the [next] opponent, if you look at the people in my division, such as Neil Magny and [Randy] Brown, whoever they fought, they fought together, I don’t know what those guys are doing so high up in the rankings. I can fight both of them in the same night if you want me to. When it comes to the opponent, I think any one of those guys can get it.”
Neil Magny ranked number eleven at welterweight, and Randy Brown, unranked, are coming off decision wins at UFC on ABC 5, which took place on June 24. Both fighters are never easy opponents, which is what Fakhretdinov needs to crack the rankings at 170 pounds.
