Misha Cirkunov bringing his punishment to UFC 206

Misha Cirkunov isn’t particularly well known among UFC fans right now, but if there is an off-the-radar type of fighter with championship potential, he might be No. 1 on that list.

Cirkunov, a powerful man who has represented Canada at an international level in judo, jiu-jitsu and freestyle wrestling, has a vastly different philosophy on mixed martial arts than most of his peers.

While most of them view MMA as a team sport and surround themselves with coaches for just about every specialty, Cirkunov operates without a coach and prepare himself for his fights. He listens to others’ opinions, but he prefers to chart his own course.

“I’m my own biggest critic,” said Cirkunov, who fights Nikita Krylov Saturday at UFC 206 in Toronto at the Air Canada Centre. “I don’t have a coach. I try to work on all my weaknesses. If somebody can outbox me at the gym, whoever it is, pro boxer, whatever boxer, my goal is to show up there and work until I can beat him in his art.

“Same goes with kick boxing, same goes with jiu-jitsu, same goes with any sport. I always want to work on my biggest weakness. If my biggest weakness is conditioning or power, I want to go and make sure I hit certain numbers or a certain time to achieve a goal. So far, I’ve been doing that and it’s been working.”

Cirkunov, who is 3-0 in the UFC with a KO and two submissions, made a huge impression in Las Vegas at UFC Fight Night in February when he broke Alex Nicholson’s jab while cranking on a rear naked choke.
It was an incredible display of strength, even if Nicholson had previously had an injured jaw.

Cirkunov, 29, is an MMA instructor at Xtreme Couture in Toronto and said he teaches his students the move he used to make Nicholson submit. It’s doubtful any of them – or more than a few in the UFC – could pull off such a move.
That submission sent notice that Cirkunov would be a factor at light heavyweight before too long.

“That division right now, it isn’t what it used to be a few years ago,” UFC president Dana White said. “The light heavyweight division used to be the big-money division. Right now, it’s up for grabs.”

Cirkunov, who is originally from Latvia, is ranked 13th in the division and could move up several slots with an impressive showing against the eighth-ranked Krylov.

Cirkunov didn’t join the UFC until last year, but he set his path long ago. In 2007, as the legendary Randy Couture was preparing to defend the heavyweight title at UFC 74, he stopped in Toronto to dedicate his new gym.

He needed someone to train with and Cirkunov got the nod. He sparred five rounds with the UFC Hall of Famer and left Couture so impressed that he was given a job.

Cirkunov was hired as an instructor for Xtreme Couture Toronto, making him the gym’s first employee.

He’s loathe to say much about what happened that day more than nine years ago, though it remains fresh in his mind.

“One hundred percent, it was so important for me,” he said. “I remember everything that happened. I don’t want to give up any secrets, but he had the belt then. When I saw what I could do with someone like Randy Couture, I knew that one day, I’d be in the mix. I knew that. I knew for sure, and I still believe that. Other people just don’t know that yet.

“Don’t get me wrong: Anything can happen in a fight. I can get hurt, my opponent can get hurt. You never know. But I’m a martial artist and whatever happens, happens. But I know what I can do, even against the elite of the elite.”

And he does it largely by being self-taught. He has friends in the various disciplines he talks to for advice on techniques or issues in his game they may see, but he formulates his own plan and works on his game by himself.

That makes him a rarity in the top-level of MMA, but given it is working, there is little reason to change at this point.

“I have a lot of good and really strong circle of friends who are elite athletes and competitors and we get together and we all watch fights together,” he said. “We talk about, ‘You’re good at this,’ or ‘You’re bad at that and you need to get better.’ We’re very honest with each other. We’re all trying to reach a level we’ve been before, and so we help each other.

“I’m trying to put my last name on the map in this world. I listen to all of my critics, and I myself am my biggest critic. I like to work on my biggest weaknesses, because when you do that consistently, one day, they’ll slowly disappear. And once that happens, you’ll turn out to be a pretty elite fighter, competitor.”

Former UFC fighter and current broadcaster Brian Stann is high on Cirkunov’s talent, but questions the wisdom of not hiring an experienced trainer.

“Misha has tremendous athletic potential to match his already impressive skill set,” Stann said. “However, I feel it is very important to have someone who really knows you and what drives you, to hold you accountable through this career. The toughest fights require someone who can see the adjustments you need to make and know how to get you to make them despite pain or exhaustion. Training partners in your corner cannot do that.”

Krylov is Cirkunov’s toughest opponent to date and will be the first indication of whether he can go solo to the top. He no doubt has the ability, but whether he has everything else needed to become a star has yet to be proven.