Misha Cirkunov has committed to dropping down to the middleweight division after accepting a fight with Krzysztof Jotko at UFC Fight Night 193 on October 2nd.
The move comes at a time when Cirkunov is still clinging onto a spot on the light-heavyweight rankings at No.13, but has been experiencing mixed results in the division for a number of years now.
The 34-year-old’s UFC run began strongly back in 2015 when he won his first four fights in a row, but since then he’s only won two of his last six fights, and perhaps most troublingly, all four losses against Volkan Oezdemir, Glover Teixeira, Johnny Walker and Ryan Spann came via strikes in the first round.
So, the submission specialist now hopes to wipe the slate clean and start again at 185lbs, where Jotko is an established veteran with an overall 9-5 record in the UFC over the past eight years.
Not so long ago Jotko was on a three-fight winning streak against the likes of Alen Amedovski, Marc-Andre Barriault and Eryk Anders, but a unanimous decision loss to Sean Strickland in May hurt his chance of solidifying a spot on the middleweight rankings.
Cirkunov vs. Jotko joins a UFC Fight Night 193 card that’s expected to be headlined by Thiago Santos vs Johnny Walker, alongside the likes of Kevin Holland vs. Kyle daukaus and Jimmy Crute vs. Jamahal Hill.
