Through the first 13 fights of his UFC career, Michal Oleksiejczuk has embarked on what feels like a pretty typical run for someone that touched down in the promotion in their early 20s and has spent the last seven years trying to figure out where they stand.
Debuting on the penultimate day of 2017, the 29-year-old Polish fighter’s time on the big stage began in earnest in 2019, when he posted back-to-back rapid finishes of Gian Villante and Gadzhimurad Antigulov to establish himself as a young talent to watch in the light heavyweight division. But a start like that often leads to accelerated pushes for those showing promise, and Oleksiejczuk was no different, as his third fight of the year came against divisional stalwart Ovince Saint Preux, who wisely played to his strengths, took him down, and forced him to tap to a Von Preux choke.