Andre Petroski will make his return to the squared circle next month at UFC Atlantic City, where he’ll be met by the Australian Jacob Malkoun in a three-round middleweight bout.
Petroski is not only returning to the cage, but to the location of his first ever fight, an amateur victory at CFFC 54 in Atlantic City just over eight years ago.
“That fight was like the moment that I knew that this was what I wanted to do the rest of my life, or at least for the next as long as I could,” Petroski said in an interview with Cageside Press. “Definitely a full circle moment.”
The Pennsylvania native has achieved high levels of success early on in his UFC tenure, amassing five victories in six fights, while securing three impressive finishes. His last two wins have come by way of decision, however, and Petroski plans to put an emphasis on getting back to his finishing ways moving forward.
“I want more finishes man. I want to get back in the finish column,” Petroski said. “I’ve been working on a lot of stuff. I got some tricks up my sleeve that I can’t wait to display in 2024.”
While Malkoun is far from the biggest name in the division, he has showcased toughness and effective wrestling throughout his UFC tenure. “Mamba” has secured victories over Abdul Razak Alhassan, AJ Dobson, and Nick Maximov, in addition to a razor thin decision loss to Brendan Allen in 2022, a fight that many people felt Malkoun won.
“I continue to make the argument that I’m the best grappler in the division,” Petroski said. “Malkoun at one point had the highest takedown ratio of any fighter in the UFC. He just takes everybody down. So that’s a challenge that excites me, I like this matchup. I think it’s the perfect fight for me to display how good my grappling really is.”
Petroski has stayed fairly active over the last few years, and he plans to continue that trend through 2024. While he is fully focused on the task ahead, Petroski has laid out a provisional blueprint for the year ahead.
“I definitely want to get three fights in – that’s my goal,” Petroski said. “I could do March, then one in the summer, and then another one before the year ends. This is my job. I want to stay busy – but I also want to be smart about the fights.”
The TUF 29 alum has high aspirations for the next chapter of his career, an era that he looks to kick off with a big victory over Malkoun in Atlantic City.
Andre Petroski vs Jacob Malkoun is set for UFC Atlantic City on March 30, 2024.
