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#4. It should be interesting to see Misha Cirkunov at 185 pounds
A few years ago, Misha Cirkunov looked like a can’t miss prospect in the UFC light heavyweight division. Built like a superhero, the Latvian-Canadian fighter exploded onto the scene and quickly dominated opponents like Ion Cutelaba and Nikita Krylov to move into the top-10.
However, a loss to Volkan Oezdemir exposed a major weakness, a somewhat questionable chin. Since then, Cirkunov has had an up-and-down time in the UFC, beating the likes of Jimmy Crute, while falling at the hands of Johnny Walker and Ryan Spann.
This weekend sees Cirkunov attempt to write a new chapter in his UFC career as he moves to middleweight for the first time to take on Krzysztof Jotko, but how successful will the move be?
It’s a massively interesting question. Cirkunov was never a small 205lber, so how he’ll make 185 pounds safely is anyone’s guess. If he can do so, though, he could well make some noise. Naturally, most 185lbers don’t hit quite as hard as their light heavyweight counterparts. With that in mind, perhaps his chin won’t be quite so much of a liability at his new weight class.
It’s a winnable fight for an athlete as powerful as Cirkunov. However, Jotko is no mug, even if he doesn’t quite have the knockout power of Oezdemir or Walker. Either way, this should be a fascinating fight that’ll be well worth watching to tell us exactly what Cirkunov has to offer as a middleweight.
#3. Kevin Holland will attempt to re-establish himself as a UFC middleweight title contender
When 2021 began, few fighters in the UFC were on as hot a streak as Kevin Holland. ‘Trailblazer’ had gone 5-0 in 2020 and ended the year with a stunning knockout of perennial contender Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza.
However, 2021 has not been quite so good for Holland. He’s lost back-to-back fights against Derek Brunson and Marvin Vettori. The nature of those losses not only knocked him out of title contention, but also asked questions about whether he’d ever be able to get there again. Simply put, if Holland wants to get to the top of the UFC, his takedown defense needs to improve quickly.
This weekend sees him fight Kyle Daukaus. While Daukaus isn’t as good a wrestler as Brunson, he’s definitely got the takedowns to test whether Holland has been able to close that hole in his game. If he has done so, then he could easily be seen as a threat again. He’s got heavy strikes, a long and rangy frame and excellent cardio. If he can show better wrestling, then why couldn’t he be a genuine contender?
But if Daukaus takes him down with ease, then UFC fans may want to count ‘Big Mouth’ out altogether. There are plenty of fights with high stakes this weekend, but for Holland, the stakes don’t get higher than this. As he’s one of the UFC’s more recognizable fighters right now, that makes this fight well worth checking out.
