Baisangur Susurkaev Archives - Cageside Press

Baisangur Susurkaev Hoping to Return in Four or Five Months After Injuring Hand at UFC 328

Patrick Danna and Jay Anderson — Mon, 11 May 2026 02:43:56 +0000

Newark — With a possibly broken hand in a splint following his victory at UFC 328, Baisangur Susurkaev was nevertheless upbeat.

The Russian middleweight improved to 12-0 after choking out Brazilian Djorden Santos on Saturday’s preliminary card, having broken his hand in the first couple of minutes in the bout. That’s now three victories, and three stoppages since joining the UFC last fall off a win on the Contender Series.

Susurkaev is now looking for a step up in competition. “A hundred percent. I told Mick Maynard [UFC matchmaker] yesterday, I talked with him, and [said] a couple names. He said ‘we’ll try something.’ I’m 100% sure I need someone top 15, top 20.”

The 25-year old revealed that he’d spoken to Maynard about “Marvin Vettori, Roman Dolidze, and Bo Nickal.” It doesn’t sound like any of those will be forthcoming. “He said Bo Nickal and Vettori have fights soon, and Dolidze [is going] up in weight.”

Perhaps Susurkaev has some time to land a big name. With the hand injury, doctors “said five, six months I should rest.” Though he plans to be back sooner. “I will try to come back fast, I’m a fast recovery. I hope four, five months I can fight again.”

That could line him up for the UFC’s annual trip to Madison Square Garden. “Maybe, why not? I like that.”

With the submission over Santos coming late in the third when Baisangur Susurkaev opted to wrestle, you’d have to wonder if he should have gone that route earlier. Instead, he stated “it was the perfect time. I wanted to show the people I’m UFC level.”

“I hope you all like it. I like it also,” stated Susurkaev, adding “It was a good fight. I like a fight like this.”

Watch the full UFC 328 post-fight press conference with Baisangur Susurkaev above.

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UFC 328: Baisangur Susurkaev Puts Djorden Santos to Sleep in Third

Nick Holt — Sat, 09 May 2026 22:20:15 +0000

Unbeaten middleweight prospect Baisangur Susurkaev took the UFC by storm last year, thanks in part to making his promotional debut just days after winning a contract on the Contender Series.

At UFC 328 in Newark on Saturday, against Djorden Santos, he was in search of his third victory in the promotion, opposite Brazil’s Djorden Santos, himself 1-1 in the company.

Susurkaev has been known to play with his food in past performances, and tonight was no different from the rising star. To get things kicked off, Baisangur Susurkaev landed a front kick to the body of Santos, followed by a three-strike combination that ended with a head kick to the Brazilian.

Santos started to get his jab going, moving forward to pressure Susurkaev, but was met with a volume of low kicks that softened up his lead leg. By around two minutes left in the round, Susurkaev was wearing some damage on the nose due to the straight strikes of Djorden Santos, as the Brazilian stayed undeterred and willing to throw down.

In round two, Susurkaev began making some adjustments, switching to a high guard while leaning on his counter-striking. Though it was Djorden Santos who started to turn things up at the beginning of the round, keeping with his jab and occasionally mixing in an uppercut to stun the Chechnya native. It was clear Susurkaev was uncomfortable with the forward pressure and strike count of Santos, but the biggest strike of the round came from Susurkaev, who landed an elbow across the top of Santos’ head before pointing and returning to his showman ways.

Djorden Santos returned to his corner with a massive gash, as the cutman rushed to improve the chances of a third-round comeback. Seemingly, though, that was the turning point for Susurkaev, as the young middleweight began flowing on the feet with a number of combinations, all landing flush on a battered Santos.

With about a minute and a half left, Susurkaev engaged in a fight-ending clinch, ultimately bringing Santos to the ground. It wasn’t long before the Russian grabbed hold of his opponent’s neck, squeezing on a rear-naked choke that dispatched the Brazilian in round three.

Baisangur Susurkaev continues his hype train, moving to 12-0 as a professional and 3-0 under the UFC banner. On the other side, Santos drops to 11-3 and 1-2 with the big show.

Official Result: Baisangur Susurkaev def. Djorden Santos by technical submission (rear-naked choke), Round 3, 4:11

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Baisangur Susurkaev Feels He Can Crack Top 15 Soon

Patrick Danna and Jay Anderson — Wed, 06 May 2026 18:05:04 +0000

Newark — In just his third fight with the UFC, undefeated middleweight prospect Baisangur Susurkaev faces Djorden Santos, though it’s not the name he was looking for necessarily.

Susurkaev (11-0) has the UFC promotional machine behind him, getting a lot of attention after making his debut just days after winning a contract on the Contender Series last year. It’s why he was scheduled for a media day session at UFC 328, despite fighting early on the prelims.

“Honestly I have this 50-50 feeling that they’re not working that hard to push me forward just yet,” said Susurkaev, who feels most of the attention stems from that quick debut.

As for Santos, it’s not the sort of opponent the Russian star was hoping for. He’s previously called out the likes of Bo Nickal, for example. “[Santos] is not famous,” acknowledged Susurkaev. “He’s a good fighter, maybe better than Bo Nickal. I still want big names, someone famous. Now I don’t have interest after this fight to fight with Bo Nickal. I think he’s scared of me. I want to fight Roman Dolidze, Marvin Vettori. Top 15, top 20, I’m ready. And I hope they will give me [that], after this fight. I hope.”

Susurkaev, who has already updated his social media to show his record as 12-0 in advance of his twelfth fight, believes he can crack the top 15 after UFC 328. A fight with Dolidze seems to have his eye in particular. “I saw Dolidze’s 14 number, I beat him, I will be 14. Next fight, we can also fight Fluffy [Anthony Hernandez] or someone like this.”

Another middleweight up-and-comer on the UFC 328 card is Ateba Gautier. It’s a fight Baisangur Susurkaev feels would go his way with ease.

“I think it’s easy money for me. He has only hands. You don’t need to laugh, brother, I’m serious,” he stated. “Like these guys who have only punches, only one round. After one round, you can see in his last fight, after one round he’s a very bad opponent. He showed us second and third round, very bad. He was tired. He did nothing and was very tired. It’s not about me. If he gets tired, I’ll kill him. It’s easy money for me I think.”

While he’s willing to fight Gautier, Susurkaev noted “he’s not a big name. Not 15 or 20. If they want to give me a fight with him, no problem.”

Susurkaev has only been to a decision once, and is now looking at the potential of a $100,000 post-fight bonus, the UFC having doubled the bonus amount this year. That, he admitted, is added motivation for get the job done early.

“Of course, 100K is big motivation. I had before, motivation to finish my opponent. Now it’s more than before, and I will try every second. Every moment, I’m looking for a finish.”

Watch the full UFC 328 media day appearance by Baisangur Susurkaev above.

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UFC 322: Baisangur Susurkaev Targeting Bo Nickal Due to Fame

Dylan Napoleone and Jay Anderson — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 21:54:14 +0000

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.

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Baisangur Susurkaev Survives Early Chaos, Scores Highlight KO Of McConico

Eddie Law — Sat, 15 Nov 2025 23:52:52 +0000

Baisangur Susurkaev steps into UFC 322 on Saturday night looking to make a statement in his promotional debut, as the unbeaten Russian prospect meets heavy-handed American Eric McConico in a clash of rising middleweights.

Susurkaev (10-0) burst onto the scene with a first-round knockout of Murtaza Talha on Dana White’s Contender Series earlier this year, then made an immediate impact by submitting Eric Nolan in his short-notice UFC debut just days later. Now the undefeated prospect looks to continue his rapid ascent as he takes on Eric McConico at Madison Square Garden.

McConico (10-3-1) spent years grinding on the regional scene before finally breaking through with his UFC debut against Nursulton Ruziboev in February. Though he came up short, he rebounded in August with a hard-fought split-decision win over Cody Brundage, putting him back on track as he heads into UFC 322.

Round 1 – McConico came out pedal to the metal, firing punches and driving Susurkaev into the fence. The two exchanged knees in close before Susurkaev reversed the position and answered with knees of his own.

McConico tried to create space with punches and knees, but Susurkaev stayed glued to him. When McConico finally broke free, he landed a sharp uppercut and immediately went back to pressuring, even connecting with a heavy leg kick that spun Susurkaev briefly.

McConico clinched up again along the fence, but Susurkaev reversed once more and forced him into wrestling exchanges. McConico repeatedly popped back to his feet after takedowns, but Susurkaev refused to give him any room to reset.

In the final 30 seconds, Susurkaev attempted a spinning elbow but got clipped by a hard shot on the break. He responded by pouring more offense on McConico as the round closed.

Susurkaev appeared relaxed, almost dismissive, throughout the exchanges, a demeanor that surprised many but showcased the young fighter’s confidence.

Round 2 – They met in the middle and began to exchange. McConico landed a clean 1-2 combination and Susurkaev fired back with an overhand right and a nasty body shot then right hand. It looked like the young man finally woke up to fight.

His activity level forced McConico on the back foot and Susurkaev took advantage landing a heavy knee to the body until McConico landed a bad groin shot that forced the ref to call a timeout.

Susurkaev took maybe a minute of time to recover and got back to it. He got back to building momentum taking the offense to McConico forcing him on the back foot. McConico, to his credit, didn’t just allow it as he fired back when Susurkaev left openings, but it wasn’t enough to discourage him.

McConico landed a heavy elbow that stung Susurkaev, but the American wasn’t able to take advantage of it. McConico put the pressure on Susurkaev and landed a heavy left hand, but then clinched him on the fence which is odd since he was having success in the striking.

The round ended with McConico clinching Susurkaev on the fence.

Round 3 – Susurkaev opened the round with heavy combinations and relentless pressure. McConico started to fade, and a hard body shot from Susurkaev drained what remained of his gas tank.

A few moments later, Susurkaev connected with an accidental right hand to the groin, returning the foul he absorbed earlier, and the referee paused the action. McConico recovered quickly and signaled he was ready to continue.

As soon as the fight resumed, Susurkaev timed a perfect right-hand counter that ended McConico’s night on the spot.

A massive victory for Baisangur Susurkaev, who punctuated the moment by calling out Bo Nickal ahead of his bout later in the evening.

Official Result: Baisangur Susurkaev def. Eric McConico via R3 KO, 1:38

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