Misha Cirkunov: Less shame in KO loss to Volkan Oezdemir now that he's fighting for UFC title

WINNIPEG – Misha Cirkunov is looking at the positives of his first UFC loss, which happened in just 28 seconds against Volkan Oezdemir in May at UFC Fight Night 109.

Cirkunov (13-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC), who will attempt to rebound from the fight on Saturday when he meets Glover Teixeira (26-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) at UFC on FOX 26, succumbed to the knockout power of “No Time” and lost the crucial fight. Oezdemir (15-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) is now weeks away from challenging UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier at UFC 220, and Cirkunov admits Oezdemir’s success takes away some sting from his loss.

“If you do lose, it’s to the guy who is truly one of the best in the world, there’s not as much shame because you’re losing to elite-level fighter,” Cirkunov told MMAjunkie at today’s UFC 218 media day. “It’s such a sport where any second, anything can happen. It’s a tough game. The only thing you can do is go back, train hard and go back and win the next one. Go back in, put yourself in position to maybe challenge him again or do a rematch down the road. Just because he beat me once doesn’t mean he’s going to beat me a second time.”

UFC on FOX 26 takes place at Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Cirkunov vs. Teixeira opens the FOX-televised main card following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

After starting his UFC career with four consecutive stoppage victories, Cirkunov experienced a hiccup against Oezdemir. He said he’s not going to let the single fight define him, though, and afterward got back in the gym as soon as he was able.

Cirkunov said he didn’t know what type of opponent UFC would match him against after his first octagon loss. Teixeira suffered a fifth-round knockout against Alexander Gustafsson at the same UFC Fight Night 109 event where Cirkunov was stopped by Oezdemir, so the pairing seemed somewhat natural.

“I was not expecting nothing,” Cirkunov said. “Just go to the gym, work, train, and whatever happens happen. I always go there, I always try to win. Last one didn’t go for me. Everything happened way too fast. No one likes to lose. Unfortunately it happened, and I’m going to try to bounce back from that. I have a big task ahead of me, a very tough guy. It’s a tough game, tough sport, and I’m tough also.”

Cirkunov said he has nothing but respect for Teixeira. The pair spent a bit of time together when they were in Sweden for the same event, and Cirkunov believes he has a pretty good read on the former UFC title challenger. He praised the Brazilian’s overall skillset but said if he can implement his game plan, he’s going to get the biggest win of his career.

“He’s like an old-school fighter,” Cirkunov said. “He has very high fight IQ. He’s a very tough guy. He can box, he can wrestle, he can go to the ground. It’s hard to predict exactly what’s going to happen. I’m going to try to go in there and implement my game and not play his game. He’s going to see who the better guy is.”

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