Finisher Michal Oleksiejczuk didn't mind going the distance with Rountree at UFC 219

LAS VEGAS – Michal Oleksiejczuk wasn’t supposed to win at UFC 219.

That’s what the oddsmakers said, anyway. Oleksiejczuk (13-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) was the card’s biggest underdog against Khalil Rountree (6-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) in a featured light heavyweight heavyweight bout to close out the prelims.

But apparently no one bothered to tell Oleksiejczuk about the odds. Against a man who had back-to-back first-round knockouts, and who was fighting in his home base in Las Vegas, Oleksiejczuk put on a stifling and dominant performance for a sweep of the judges’ scorecards.

“It’s still hard to believe what happened – it’s a big day for me in my life,” Oleksiejczuk said through a translator after the fight. “Of course, I believed in myself and my abilities to win this fight, but I had no clue I would do it in such a dominant style and I would beat Khalil everywhere – standing, wrestling and on the ground.”

UFC 219 took place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Oleksiejczuk, from Poland, ran his winning streak to an impressive 10 straight fights with the unanimous decision over Rountree. The 22-year-old hasn’t lost in more than three years, and even though eight of his previous nine wins in the current run were by stoppage, he isn’t fretting going to the judges against Rountree.

“I’m surprised I didn’t finish him in the second round,” Oleksiejczuk said. “But he’s a very tough guy and I have a lot of respect for him because he took a lot. I’m very happy – I thought that I would have a finish, but a decision for a (UFC) debut isn’t a bad thing,  especially against such an opponent as Khalil.”

And he wants his next fight to be a big one, too, at least in terms of name value. Gokhan Saki was supposed to fight Rountree at UFC 219, but pulled out a month prior with an injury – which allowed Oleksiejczuk to step in for his UFC debut.

Now, Oleksiejczuk figures, he might as well be the one who steps in with Saki his next time out.

“I want to fight Gokhan Saki because he’s a legend – he’s a legendary striker and kickboxer, and it would be an honor to enter a cage with him,” Oleksiejczuk said. “I think that’s a good fight to make after this one. Hopefully that will happen. I think when I’m in shape with a good camp, I can fight any light heavyweight in the world and I will prove that in my next fights.”

For more from Oleksiejczuk, check out the video above.

And for complete coverage of UFC 219, check out the UFC Events section of the site.