Michal Oleksiejczuk targets Chris Curtis after UFC Fight Night 216: 'I want to go to the top'

LAS VEGAS – Michal Oleksiejczuk sees Chris Curtis as the perfect fight to break into the UFC middleweight rankings.

Oleksiejczuk (18-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC) scored a first-round Performance of the Night knockout of Cody Brundage in this past Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 216 event at the UFC Apex.

In his post-fight interview, Oleksiejczuk called out Chris Curtis (30-9 MMA, 4-1 UFC), who’s coming off a big knockout win over Joaquin Buckley at UFC 282.

“Chris Curtis is a very good fighter, and Chris Curtis is in the top 15 rankings,” Oleksiejczuk told MMA Junkie and other reporters backstage at the UFC Apex. “I want to fight with him, because Chris is a very good fighter, very good striker, and good opponent for me. I want to go to the top. This is my dream.”

Oleksiejczuk is 2-0 since moving back down to middleweight, where he scored back-to-back first-round knockouts of Sam Alvey and Brundage. It’s a move that has paid dividends for the 27-year-old Polish fighter.

“I think that this is the best fight in my career,” Oleksiejczuk said. “Because I show grappling, and I show very good grappling control, good position, and my punches were very strange.”

He continued, “I think the middleweight division is the ideal weight for me. The light heavyweight division is not good for me, but this division is good because my strength is up, my speed is up. I feel very good in this division.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 216.