Modestas Bukauskas met the media Saturday after his win over Paul Craig at UFC Fight Night 258.
Bukauskas (19-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC) stopped Craig (17-10-1 MMA, 9-10-1 UFC) with a vicious pair of elbows right at the end of the first round on the main card at Accor Arena in Paris. Craig announced his retirement after the fight.
Given the win for Bukauskas came against an opponent in Craig who has three wins over eventual light heavyweight champions, including current titleholder Magomed Ankalaev’s only career loss, Bukauskas hopes he starts to see a step up in competition.
“I’ve had four wins, three of those by finish – one KO, one TKO, one submission,” Bukauskas told the UFC after his win. “To get three wins out of four by finish, that’s already a big statement itself. Paul Craig was in the top 10 at light heavyweight for a long time … he’s fought the best guys in the world. To have all these names under my belt – my record is now 19-6 – you can’t give me anything else but a top-15 matchup.”
Bukauskas said training with current UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, as well as newly signed Ante Delija, who won his promotional debut Saturday, has helped elevate his game to begin with.
But now getting in there with some other elites, after what he did to Craig, is next on his agenda.
“There’s a whole host of amazing fighters,” Bukauskas said. “Alonzo Menifield’s been doing really well. You’ve got Zhang Mingyang, though he’s coming off of a loss – obviously he’s going to be raring to get back in there. Even Johnny Walker – there’s an amazing group of names in that top 15. Give me any of those guys at the end of the day. Having such a high level of opposition is only going to make me better.”
Check out Bukauskas’ post-fight interview in the video below.
