Cirkunov rocketing up the rankings
UFC: Canadian can make his case for a light heavyweight title shot with a decisive win in Stockholm
Having yet to celebrate his two-year anniversary as a member of the UFC roster, Misha Cirkunov is still a relative newcomer when it comes to a light heavyweight division replete with established names and veteran talent.
But in just four fights, the 30-yearold Latvian-Canadian has rocketed up the rankings to find himself on the brink of title contention in the 205-pound ranks as he prepares to make his 2017 debut inside the Octagon against fellow upstart Volkan Oezdemir in the co-main event of this weekend’s UFC Fight Night in Stockholm.
While the hulking physical specimen with a penchant for finishing his fights may seem like he’s come out of nowhere, the truth is, Cirkunov has been working his way to this point for more than a decade.
“It’s a long journey. It’s a long, long marathon,” Cirkunov said of his career inside the cage. “It’s not a sprint race and it’s been a long, long journey and slowly, one day at a time, slowly, slowly, slowly, I’m getting there.
“I’ve been in the UFC what — two years now?” asked Cirkunov, who has earned stoppage victories in each of his first four UFC appearances.
“Not even two years and I’ve kind of proved myself. I have a few fights already, but I don’t let that get in my head. I think of myself as a white belt who is hungry to get things that he doesn’t have yet.”
Though his UFC career only began in August 2015 with a first-round technical knockout win over Daniel Jolly in Saskatoon, the grappling standout has been competing professionally since January 2010. But even before he turned pro, Cirkunov believed he was capable of making an impact at the highest level in the sport, thanks to a pair of training sessions with two legendary UFC fighters.
“For me, I realized that I could be one of the best in the world after two training sessions — one was when I trained with Forrest Griffin in Las Vegas and one was when I trained with Randy Couture in Toronto,” said Cirkunov.
“Both of the men were UFC light heavyweight champions and I trained with both of them and I realized they did it, they made it happen, and I can do it, too. I can make it happen, too.”
The encounter with Griffin came when Cirkunov was 19 and fresh out of high school, having decamped from the Greater Toronto Area for the Vegas desert. Training at Marc Laimon’s Cobra Kai gym, the teen tested himself against Griffin, who a year earlier had bested Stephan Bonnar in their iconic clash at The Ultimate Fighter I Finale and would go on to claim the light heavyweight title two years later. He came away convinced he belonged.
His session with Couture followed a year later, as “The Natural” was in town working on the launch of Xtreme Couture Toronto and preparing to defend the heavyweight title against Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 74.
“It was two weeks before he fought Gabriel Gonzaga and they needed someone to train with Randy Couture and nobody was up for the challenge,” said Cirkunov.
“They asked me and I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? I’ll be there in 10 minutes!’ I met him, we did five minutes, five rounds, and the rest was history.”
Not only did Cirkunov come away more sold on his ability to excel in the sport, but he earned himself a job in the process.
“After the training session, (Couture) came up to his business partners and said I want to make sure this kid works at my gym. Not just works, but teaches at my gym,” said Cirkunov, who continues to teach and coach at the expansive Etobicoke, Ont., facility.
Now on the brink of reaching the upper echelon of the light heavyweight division, the talented Latvian-Canadian knows he has a tough test in front of him this weekend in the form of Oezdemir, who upset former interim title challenger Ovince Saint Preux on short notice in his debut to catapult himself into the top 5 in the UFC Fighter Rankings.
That being said, Cirkunov is acutely aware that he’s closing in on title contention and, with British knockout artist Jimi Manuwa in need of a dance partner this summer, he’d be more than ready to answer the call if all goes well Sunday night in Stockholm.
“I don’t want to look past this fight because I have stiff competition — a guy with an amazing record who knocks people out and is a very, very, very tough guy who beat OSP,” said Cirkunov.
“I don’t want to look past this fight. I just want to concentrate on this fight because I don’t want to say something and then all of a sudden I have too many plates on the table.
“But if everything goes good, I’m a fighter and they ask me to go in and I’m not injured, that’s what I do. I fight for a living and I’ll be there.”