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Two of the more promising lightweights on the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster, they will lock horns in the UFC on ESPN 31 co-headliner this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Riddell enters the Octagon on the strength of a seven-fight winning streak. The City Kickboxing standout last appeared at UFC 263, where he took a three-round unanimous decision from Drew Dober on June 12. Fiziev, meanwhile, has won four fights in a row. He last fought on Aug. 7, when he laid claim to a three-round unanimous decision over former King of the Cage champion Bobby Green at UFC 265.
As Riddell and Fiziev inch ever closer to their battle at 155 pounds, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
30: Years of age for Riddell, who was born on Sept. 30, 1991 in Christchurch, New Zealand.
5: Riddell victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 50% of his career total (10). His complete list of victims: Maxim Pugachev, Shem Murdoch, Kenan Song, Shalawujiang Yeerruer and Gi Gean Key. Riddell holds five other victories by decision.
285: Significant strikes landed by Riddell across his four UFC appearances, all of them resulting in decision wins. He has absorbed 191 such strikes in return.
1: Regional championship on the Riddell mantle. He laid claim to the Wollongong Wars welterweight title with a five-round unanimous decision over Mikey Vaotuua on July 12, 2019. It was Riddell’s final pre-Ultimate Fighting Championship assignment.
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.774: Cumulative winning percentage between the four men—Dober, Alex da Silva Coelho, Magomed Mustafaev and Jamie Mullarkey—Riddell has defeated since he linked arms with the UFC a little more than two years ago. They boast a combined record of 72-21.
28: Years of age for Fiziev, who was born in Korday, Kazakhstan, on March 5, 1993.
6: Fiziev wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 60% of his career total (10). His complete list of victims: Renato Carneiro, Nurzhan Tutkaev, Nandin-Erdene Munguntsooj, Seung Yeon Kim, Suraj Bahadur and Sam Bastin. Fiziev owns one other win by submission—he dispatched Gunduz Nabiev with a first-round rear-naked choke under the Kyrgyzstan MMA Federation banner in October 2016—and three more by decision.
58: Seconds needed for Fiziev to put away Munguntsooj with a head kick and follow-up punches at Road Fighting Championship 45 on Dec. 23, 2017. Having occurred more than 1,400 days ago, it remains the fastest finish of his 11-fight career.
9: Countries in which Fiziev has competed as a mixed martial artist. He has gone 2-0 in the United States, 2-0 in South Korea, 1-0 in China, 1-0 in Kyrgyzstan, 1-0 in Thailand, 1-0 in Kazakhstan, 1-0 in Singapore, 1-0 in the United Arab Emirates and 0-1 in Russia.
70: Combined victories between the four men—Green, Carneiro, Marc Diakiese and Alex White—Fiziev has beaten as a member of the UFC roster. They sport a cumulative record of 70-27-2 (.707).