By Azernews

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Azerbaijani MMA fighter Tofig Musayev (71 kg) has won the 2019 Rizin Grand Prix tournament held in Japan.

On the way to the glory, the sportsman fought in three rounds. On October 12, Musayev defeated Damien Brown from Australia via technical knockout at 4:14 of Round 1. Unfortunately, Musayev broke his arm in the first round.

However, he continued to fight in the second round. On December 31, Azerbaijani sportsman competed with Johnny Case from the U.S. and won via technical knockout at 2:47.

In the tournament finals in Saitama, Japan, Musayev met Patricky Freire from Brazil, nicknamed Pit Bull and was stronger by unanimous decision of the judges.

Thus, Musayev became the world lightweight champion at the Rizin Grand Prix 2019 tournament. This victory was the athlete's 18th achievement.

Musayev is the first Azerbaijani athlete in MMA history who has made such progress in the world tournament.

In Baku, the champion was greeted with a standing ovation at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport.

Musayev began his professional career in 2013. He participated in tournaments of such promotions as WFCA, OC, RFF.