Manchester — Light heavyweight Modestas Bukauskas came away from UFC 304 with a submission win against Marchin Prachnio— though the most memorable moment of the fight might have been Prachnio landing a head kick from close quarters while under fire against the fence.
“I always knew it was going to be a hard fight against Marcin. He’s one of the very few guys that can throw these extravagant kicks like me,” Bukauskas (16-6) said following the fight, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press. “Obviously I used more of my boxing in that fight, but it definitely added a whole other layer of trying to prepare.”
“It’s not often that I have a guy that can throw that kind of stuff against me. I had to use other areas of my game, which I was very adamant to show obviously.”
The head kick that caught Bukauskas coming in might have been a wake-up call not to throw caution to the wind. While he didn’t go down from the blow, it was still an impressive kick thrown out of nowhere, and a reminder that Prachnio remained dangerous.
“My corner team were definitely loud to let me know about that, that’s for sure. Kind of, not rush in. At the end of the day, I felt it was a good performance against a very tough guy. Still learning, still getting better,” said Bukauskas, calling the win “something to build off of.”
The arm-triangle choke came in the third round, marking Bukauskas’ first submission victory in the UFC. With UFC 304 marking his first fight of 2024, he’s hoping to get back to work soon.
“I’m hoping, yeah. As long as they clear me and medically and stuff like that, I want to fight as early as possible really. Either October, December, whatever it is. I’ll rest up, heal up, get straight back into training.”
Modestas Bukauskas is on his second stint with the UFC, and admitted on Saturday that “maybe it was a bit premature before to be in the UFC, but not by skill set, just by mindset.”
“Maybe it was a bit premature in terms of me just pulling the trigger when I’m in there,” he would add, while noting that as a Cage Warriors champ, he felt ready to take on the best in the world. Still, the mindset is different now. “Definitely the killer mindset that I have is a lot different. I’m more willing to actually get into a fight, get into a brawl and stuff like this. That sort of warrior mentality is something that you need in fighting.”
Watch the full UFC 304 post-fight press conference with Modestas Bukauskas above.
