Usually when you see someone arrive in the UFC with a 16-0-1 record, you think, “Yeah, but who has he fought?”
In the case of Shtyrkov, the answer is, “A lot of well known guys, actually.”
“The Ural Hulk” arrives in Saint Petersburg for his debut assignment against Devin Clark after going 3-0-1 in 2018, a stretch which included stoppage wins over former UFC light heavyweights Thiago Silva and Fabio Maldonado. Over the course of his not-quite-four-year career, Shtyrkov has also shared the cage with Jeff Monson, Ricco Rodriguez, “Bigfoot” Silva, Rodney Wallace, Phil De Fries and Satoshi Ishii.
That is a laundry list of solid opponents to face on the regional circuit and Shtyrkov beat them all.
Clark is a terrific litmus test for the 30-year-old UFC debutant, as he’s logged six appearances in the Octagon already, registering a 3-3 record and entering this one looking to rebound from a stoppage loss to Aleksandar Rakic.
If Shtyrkov can maintain his undefeated record and add another impressive performance to his resume, he’ll immediately become an interesting addition to the light heavyweight ranks, where fresh faces and new names are always in demand.
