Baisangur Susurkaev says he is ready to keep moving fast. The unbeaten Russian middleweight will make his third UFC start against Brazil’s Djorden Santos at UFC 328 in Newark, New Jersey, after a stretch that already pushed him from Dana White’s Contender Series to a pair of wins on numbered cards.
Susurkaev earned his contract with a first-round body-kick knockout on the Contender Series, then fought four days later at UFC 319 in Chicago and submitted Eric Nolan on his debut. He followed that with a third-round knockout of Eric McConico at UFC 322 the following November, leaving him 11-0 as he heads into the third UFC fight of his career.
“I’m really happy,” Susurkaev said. “It’s the third one when I fight on a big card – two times with Khamzat, one time with Islam, and I think it means something because every fight, it’s a good future for me… We made the new record, with two fights in four days, and (was) the first guy after Dana White’s Contender Series to go to a (numbered event) press conference. I think that was a big moment for me, and I was happy to be there.”
That rapid climb is the backdrop for a matchup that comes at a good time for both men. Susurkaev enters as a prospect trying to keep the momentum of an unusually quick UFC start, while Santos arrives in New Jersey with an 11-2 record and a rebound win already on his ledger after losing his debut by judges’ decision.
Santos earned his roster spot with a win over Will Currie on Dana White’s Contender Series, then picked up his first UFC victory with a unanimous decision over Danny Barlow at UFC Vancouver last October. Susurkaev knows the challenge in front of him and says Santos brings the kind of durability and pace that can turn a fight into a grind if he lets it.
“I think he’s a good fighter,” Susurkaev said. “He has a good chin, good cardio.” He called Santos’ conditioning the best of any opponent he has faced and said, “He has the best cardio of all of my opponents, and I think maybe the best chin.”
Even so, Susurkaev made clear he is not planning for a long night. He said he chooses a knockout every time, has finished only one fight by submission, and wants to end this one in the first or second round. “Every minute, I’m looking for the finish,” he said, adding that both men want to fight, which should make the bout appealing for the crowd.
Susurkaev also said the pressure that came with his first UFC appearance has faded. He described “big pressure in my first fight, my debut,” when it was the first time he fought with many people watching him, then said he felt a little better in his second fight and better still now. “I don’t think the pressure will be a problem,” he said. If he gets that timing right again, UFC 328 could be another short step in a run that has already moved quicker than almost anyone expected.
