Bukauskas was hoping to fight again last year, but when he was offered to fight on the first card of 2026 and at Paramount’s first event, he jumped at the chance.
“I knew from the beginning it was going to be a big card, just the first card at Paramount at T-Mobile Arena,” Bukauskas said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “They always have bangers when they do numbered cards in Vegas. It’s a privilege to fight on such a historic card.”
Bukauskas will also have a top 15 opponent as he will face Krylov, someone he wanted to fight.
“That was one of the names that was on my radar,” Bukauskas said. “I wanted to fight a top-15 guy, and I called for those guys pretty early on. It made sense, I knew one of those guys was going to come up, and one of the names I thought it would be was Krylov, and he came up. It all fell into place.”
Even though Bukauskas wanted to fight Krylov, he knows how dangerous he is. He believes Krylov is the most dangerous opponent he has fought, but he expects this will bring out the best in him.
“He is very good on the floor and can wrestle well,” Bukauskas added. “He’s a versatile athlete. And he puts on a lot of crazy fights. He’s a very dangerous fighter, the most dangerous opponent I’ve had so far. But that will bring out the best ‘Baltic Gladiator’.” You have to be sharp against someone like him.”
Modestas Bukauskas expects to finish Nikita Krylov at UFC 324
Although Bukauskas believes Krylov is dangerous, he is confident in his own game.
The light heavyweight prospect believes he has all the tools he needs to not only beat Nikita Krylov, but earn a victory at UFC 324 and make a statement.
“I see myself finishing Krylov,” Bukauskas said. “He’s the most dangerous fighter I’ve fought, but every time I get a tough test, I have to rise to the occasion. That’s what I’m going to do, rise to the occasion. I’m going to put in the best performance of my life at UFC 324.”
Should Modestas Bukauskas get the victory he is looking for, he will have a name in mind that he is ready to call.
“I have things in mind, but I’ll save them for after the fight. I want to plant seeds to make certain things happen, but I need an emphatic finish to get these things,” Bukauskas concluded.
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