Khabib lookalike blames fish hooking attempt for biting accusation

Aliev made his UFC debut at UFC Vegas 70, becoming the first athlete from Tajikistan to compete in the UFC.

Despite his impressive performance, he had some trouble during his debut against Rafael Alves in the lightweight division.

In the first round, Alves complained that his finger had been bitten by Aliev. Referee Smith stopped the match and consulted the NAC, but it was difficult to confirm whether a bite had occurred as Alves’ hand was obscured.

However, a small bite mark was found on Alves’ finger, resulting in Aliev losing a point.

Despite this setback, Aliev still won the match via a majority decision, demonstrating his dominance in grappling in the second round. The judges scored 29-27, 29-27, and 28-28 for Aliev.

During the press conference, Aliev denied the biting allegations and accused Alves of trying to take an extra break.

“There was no bite. I was controlling him with my head, and he was trying to get me off by putting his hand in my mouth. So, I was trying to spit his hand out, and as I was doing so, his finger got caught in one of my teeth. ”

“Maybe he was tired, so he decided to call it a bite, but there wasn’t a bite. He was just tired because a young eagle was pressuring him. He felt the pressure of a young eagle, and it seemed like the people looking at the replay didn’t see a bite.”

He explained that Alves had placed his hand in Aliev’s mouth while he was controlling him, and his finger had accidentally caught on one of Aliev’s teeth.

Aliev remains undefeated in his professional MMA career, having won all nine of his matches since his debut in 2018.