Baisangur Susurkaev Targets First-Round Finish Against Djorden Santos
baisangur susurkaev heads into UFC 328 in Newark, New Jersey, with a clear target: finish Djorden Santos in the first or second round. The Russian middleweight carries an 11-0 record into his third UFC fight, and this one puts him back on a numbered card after two earlier wins.
Susurkaev said, "I want to finish him in the first or second round." That push for another stoppage fits the pattern he has built since earning his contract with a first-round body-kick knockout on Dana White’s Contender Series.
Susurkaev’s UFC rise
His UFC debut came four days after his Tuesday night win at Meta APEX, when he submitted Eric Nolan at UFC 319. The following November, he returned at UFC 322 and knocked out Eric McConico in the third round, giving him finishes in two different ways across his first two UFC appearances.
That quick climb has been matched by his record. Susurkaev has won all 11 of his professional fights, and he has already logged three numbered UFC cards in a short span. He said, "I’m really happy," about fighting on big cards, a line that fits a fighter moving fast through the middleweight ladder.
Djorden Santos at UFC 328
Santos brings a different profile into Newark. He owns an 11-2 record, earned his UFC roster spot with a win over Will Currie on Dana White’s Contender Series, then lost his debut by judges’ decision before rebounding with a unanimous decision win over Danny Barlow at UFC Vancouver last October.
Susurkaev called him a good fighter and pointed to his chin and cardio, but his own words leave little doubt about the plan. "I choose every time a knockout," he said, adding, "I like knockouts, and every time, I’m going (in there) to get a knockout."
Newark sets the test
The matchup gives Susurkaev another chance to show that his early UFC surge can hold up against a durable opponent who has already bounced back once inside the promotion. He also said, "Now I think I feel even better, and I don’t think the pressure will be a problem," after describing the first UFC outing as the first time he fought with many people watching him.
For a fighter who has already turned one Contender Series knockout into two UFC finishes, UFC 328 becomes the next checkpoint. Another stoppage would keep the rise moving; a longer fight would tell a different story, especially against an opponent with Santos’s 11-2 mark and recent decision win in Vancouver.
