Amir Albazi continues his winning streak by securing a submission victory over Francisco Figueiredo on the UFC 278 prelims.
Albazi, who now has a 15 – 1 MMA professional record and is unbeaten in the UFC, returned to the octagon after a roughly 18-month hiatus. He took on the Brazilian fighter Francisci Figueiredo, the brother of UFC champion Deiveson Figueiredo. The Iraqi-born fighter quickly beat his opposition as he submitted Figueiredo with a picture-perfect Rear-naked choke at the 4:34 mark of Round 1.
Amir Albazi on pulling a practical joke on Joe Rogan
But the Iraqi fighter had one more trick to pull off, as he decided to play a practical joke on the UFC announcer, Joe Rogan. ‘The Prince’ brought a translator for his in-ring interview. This confused Rogan, as Albazi spoke English in his previous interviews.
Watch Albazi’s post-fight interview below:
"I'm just f**king with you, Joe!" ?
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) August 20, 2022
No translator needed for ?? @AmirAlbazi after a HUGE showcase win at #UFC278! pic.twitter.com/MfS3I3WdBb
Firstly he said: ‘I’m just f***ing with you, Joe,’ and shared his mind on the just fought bout. Later Albazi revealed that he wants to fight in Abu Dhabi on October 22 at UFC 280.
At the UFC 278 post-fight press conference the flyweight fighter was asked if the joke that he pulled on Rogan was planned in advance, or if he came with it on the fly.
Albazi declared himself to be a massive fan of Rogan’s work as the stand-up comedian and elaborated that he expected the UFC announcer to appreciate the humor.
“I always wanted to mess with Joe somehow. He’s a comedian, you know. I’m a big fan of Joe’s work, you know, everything he’s done. So for me, it’s a dream come true having Joe standing next to me, interviewing me. So I had to pull something out.”
Watch ‘The Prince’ talk about the practical joke that he pulled on Rogan below: