Cirkunov seeking UFC title matchup

TORONTO — No offence to Nikita Krylov, but Misha Cirkunov would have much preferred to fight someone a little more, uh, familiar at UFC 206.

Someone like, oh, maybe former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio (Shogun) Rua. Or one of the similarly named Nogueira twins, Antonio Rodrigo and Antonio Rogerio, two of the toughest Brazilian badasses around.

Anybody even a casual MMA fan would recognize. Not relatively unknown brawler Krylov, a tough dude but not exactly a household name in these parts.

“I really want to fight people who are legends, big names of the sport, to showcase who I am,” Cirkunov said in a one-onone interview with Postmedia. “I want a big fight. (Krylov) is ranked No. 8 in the whole world. It’s a great fight (but) it’s not the fight that I wanted.

“I wanted to get a fight against a real veteran, somebody like Mauricio Shogun or one of the Nogueira brothers, somebody who is established, used to be a former UFC champion and all that. It’s the last fight of my contract. So I wanted to show the UFC my true potential.”

Instead of entering the octagon at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday against an aging, but dangerous, ex-champ or contender, Cirkunov will need to make do with eighth-ranked Krylov, a 24-year-old Ukrainian riding a five-fight (all KOs or submissions) winning streak. Krylov is coming off an impressive second-round KO of veteran Ed Herman at UFC 201 in July.

But Cirkunov, ranked 13th and considered a rising star in the UFC’s light heavyweight division, has been equally as impressive as Krylov during his MMA career, if not more so.

Heck, the guy hasn’t lost in more than four years, a seven-win streak dating back to March 2012 when he was submitted by Aaron Johnson at King of the Ring VI in Norcross, Ga.

“That’s the only reason I’m here,” Cirkunov said when asked if he believes he can eventually win a championship.