There’s making up for lost time and then there’s what Magomed Mustafaev did on Saturday.
Competing for the first time in nearly 900 days, Mustafaev (15-2) reminded everyone why he is one to watch in the 155-pound division, taking Rafael Fiziev (6-1) out with a spinning strike to open the UFC St. Petersburg preliminaries.
Mustafaev was looking to spin and win right out of the gate, catching Fiziev with a glancing kick that put the debuting Kazakh off-balance. That put Mustafaev in the driver’s seat and he never let his foot off the gas, eventually landing a spinning kick to the head that rocked Fiziev even though it was partially blocked.