After a couple of fights fell through, Robert Bryczek finally got to make his UFC debut on Saturday, taking on Ihor Poteiria at UFC Vegas 86.
Bryczek, an Oktagon MMA vet, was debuting on the same day of his old home returning to Germany. Potieria had stepped into the fight on short notice, and on Friday had missed weight.
That didn’t stop the Ukrainian from making the best of things.
The pair met in the center cage and Potieria connected with his opponent with a heavy inside leg kick. Bryczek seemed a little gun-shy early letting Potieria set the pace. Potieria was finding home with his kicks, especially to the inside of the leg. Bryczek finally threw a right hand and landed clean. That gave him some confidence coming in with some heat. He got too aggressive however and punched Ihor in the groin.
After the timeout, Bryczek was still coming forward letting his hands go. Potieria tried for a takedown but it was shrugged off. Ihor Potieria was at least moving well and early on his defense was on point. He had Bryczek missing a lot and was controlling the pace of the fight. The round ends with Potiera controlling Bryczek against the cage.
In round two, Potieria was back at it with the inside leg kick. Bryczek continued to have problems finding his range being the smaller fighter. The kicks from Bryczek were the best weapon from either fighter. Bryczek was throwing single strikes and wasn’t close to leaning clean. Potieria was at least using fakes and going for takedowns keeping Bryczek guessing. Not a lot of action from both fighters in round two.
In the final round Bryczek likely needed a finish. It was Ihor Potieria who landed a left hand that wobbled the knees of Bryczek a bit. Bryczek then came back and hurt Potieria and then Potieria dropped Bryczek with a hook. Bryczek got back up and Potieria swarmed with punches against the cage. Potieria unleashed a series of punches in tight turning it on in the final round. When Bryczek got away he was too gassed to do anything. Potieria put him back against the cage and ended the fight there.
Official Result: Ihor Potieria def. Robert Bryczek by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
