Michal Oleksiejczuk got a quick knockout over Gadzhimurad Antigulov in the first round at UFC St. Petersburg.
Michal Oleksiejczuk was 12-2 with a nine-fight win streak when he signed with the UFC in 2017. He defeated Khalil Rountree in his promotional debut, but then had the win overturned to a no contest after failing a drug test. The suspension kept him out of action in 2018, returning in February 2019 against Gian Villante. Oleksiejczuk won with a body punch stoppage in just over 90 seconds.
Gadzhimurad Antigulov is a former ACB champion with a 2-1 record in the UFC. The Dagestani light heavyweight has an impressive 15 submissions along with four knockouts in his career. Antigulov has fought once per year since signing with the UFC in 2016. He won his first two fights by submission before falling to Ion Cutelaba last July.
Antigulov started the fight extremely quick, sprinting after Michal Oleksiejczuk looking for right hands. As he was running after him, Oleksiejczuk hit him with a counter left hook that dropped him. He then recovered and got back to his feet, where he continued his previous strategy of putting ridiculous pressure on Oleksiejczuk. He then got caught again and dropped, where he once again recovered and got back up. However as he was moving forward again, he got caught, and the third time was the charm for Oleksiejzcuk. He dropped him and jumped on with ground and pound and Antigulov was out.
Not one…
Not two…#UFCStPetersburg pic.twitter.com/yRxshTgD9L— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 20, 2019
Since returning from suspension, Michal Oleksiejczuk has looked extremely impressive.
Michal Oleksiejczuk def. Gadzhimurad Antigulov by KO in Round One (0:44)
