Rizvan Kuniev wins Fight of the Night, admits mistakes

Rizvan Kuniev collected a Fight of the Night bonus at UFC Abu Dhabi, but the Russian heavyweight left the cage frustrated with his own work.

Kuniev stopped Tyrell Fortune in the third round at Etihad Arena after a back-and-forth scrap that saw both men land heavy shots before the Russian connected with consecutive knees to force the stoppage, per Sherdog. The finish improved Kuniev to 2-1 in the UFC and earned him 50 grand, but he spent his post-fight interview cataloguing his errors.

Kuniev targets title run after Fortune stoppage

"Of course I made some mistakes," Kuniev told reporters afterward. "Because I rushed sometimes too fast into the fight, but we will work it out and as my coach said, I'm on top now. Top 15, you know. And you cannot make mistakes at this level if you want to be a champion."

The win puts Kuniev on a two-fight streak after he dropped his Octagon debut to Curtis Blaydes. He rebounded with a victory over Jailton Almeida earlier this year before the Fortune finish in Abu Dhabi.

Fortune fell to 18-4 with the loss. Kuniev, now 14-3, earned his UFC contract via Dana White's Contender Series and has repeatedly stated his intention to fight for the heavyweight title. No timetable for his next bout has been announced.

Reported via:

• Sherdog — Rizvan Kuniev won a UFC Fight of the Night bonus; he still wasn’t happy