5 Things You Might Not Know About Michal Oleksiejczuk

Michal Oleksiejczuk WITH THE ROUND 1 WILD GNP #UFCVegas66 pic.twitter.com/AzOsQGT44o
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) December 18, 2022

Michal Oleksiejczuk still operates in relative anonymity within the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division. However, he could soon find himself knocking on the door to the Top 15.

One of the more intriguing under-30 talents on the UFC roster, Oleksiejczuk enters his 2023 campaign with wins in four of his past five fights. The 27-year-old last competed at UFC Fight Night 216, where he wiped out Cody Brundage with punches a little more than three minutes into their Dec. 17 pairing. Oleksiejczuk has compiled a 6-3 record inside the Octagon, with all three of his losses—Dustin Jacoby, Jimmy Crute and Ovince St. Preux were the perpetrators—having taken place at 205 pounds.

As Oleksiejczuk awaits word on his next assignment from UFC matchmakers, here are five things you might not know about the Polish upstart:

1. His were humble beginnings.

Oleksiejczuk was born on Feb. 22, 1995 in Wlodwa, Poland—a city of roughly 14,000 people situated some 40 miles to the northeast of the Polish capital.

2. His handlers chose the baptism-by-fire approach.

“Hussar” made his professional mixed martial arts debut at the age of 18, when he took a unanimous decision from Rajmund Flejmer at a Vale Tudo Promotions event on Jan. 11, 2014. Oleksiejczuk went on to fight six times as a teenager, compiling a 4-2 record in those bouts.

3. He lined his resume in regional gold.

Oleksiejczuk captured the vacant Thunderstrike Fight League light heavyweight championship when he submitted Lukasz Borowski with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their TFL 8 main event on Jan. 16, 2016. He successfully defended the title against Lukasz Klinger and Charles Andrade—neither man survived the first round against him—before he signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

4. Destructive offensive weaponry buoys his repertoire.

The Ankos MMA Poznan representative sports 10 first-round finishes on his ledger, which account for more than half of his career win total. Five of those quick-strike victories have taken place inside the UFC, highlighted by Oleksiejczuk’s 44-second technical knockout of Gadzhimurad Antigulov at UFC Fight Night 149 in 2019.

5. He spread his wings at the highest level.

Oleksiejczuk never competed outside of his native Poland prior to joining the UFC roster. His 10 Octagon assignments have taken place in six different countries: the United States, the United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, Denmark, Russia and the Czech Republic.