New York, NY — A month before UFC 322, Baisangur Susurkaev injured his ankle.
He had no intention of pulling out of the fight at Madison Square Garden against Eric McConico, however. “I wanted the fight, and I did fight,” the middleweight told media outlets including Cageside Press following the event in New York City.
For “three, four weeks I didn’t wrestle. Didn’t do normal sparring. I cannot defend wrestling on this leg, cannot use, cannot shoot [with] this leg. I just wanted [the] fight, and I fight and win,” Susurkaev (11-0) added.
The young Russian earned his way into the UFC on the Contender Series earlier this year, and infamously made his promotional debut just four days later. He’s talked about becoming a UFC champion on par with the likes of Jon Jones, and is so far undefeated in his pro career, with 10 of his 11 wins coming inside the distance. Saturday was no different; McConico went down off a right hook in the third round.
After his latest win, Susurkaev called out Bo Nickal. It’s a fight he’s called for in the past; despite seeing Nickal during fight week, the two have not exchanged words. “Yes, I saw him a couple times. Didn’t talk with him. When you do weight cut, you don’t want to talk with someone. After, we can talk.”
The Nickal callout came with a condition: the wrestler had to win. “If he lost, I don’t have interest in a fight with him.” Luckily, Nickal also won on Saturday, finishing Rodolfo Vieira with a head kick. For Susurkaev, it’s nothing personal. “He’s good, maybe a good guy, good fighter. I think I can beat him easy. He’s a famous guy, I want to beat someone like him. Famous. He’s a wrestler, I do an easy fight with wrestlers.”
Watch the full UFC 322 post-fight press conference with Baisangur Susurkaev above.
