Rafael Aghayev

Rafael Aghayev is inarguably the greatest karate fighter of this generation having won the World Championships five times. Most agree, he is in fact the greatest of ALL TIME. No other fighter has exhibited the level of skill in every area of fighting as Aghayev has with masterful punches, kicks, and otherworldly take downs. Rafael is an innovator of fighting and regularly creates new ways to dissect his opponents. He regularly gives up reach and weight to his opponents, but it has never once bothered him or kept him from finding a way to win. He is the pride of Azerbaijani sports, and won the Olympic Silver medal in Karate at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, at 75kg. He won the Karate Combat Interim Welterweight Championship by defeating fellow striking icon Raymond Daniels, and unified the title vs undisputed champ Josh Quayhagen at KC40.