Who is Robert Bryczek?

Hailing from Bielsko Biala, Poland, Robert Bryczek is a 33-year-old MMA fighter set to make his promotional debut on the main card of UFC Vegas 86.

Headlined by Jack Hermansson and Joe Pyfer, the Fight Night event will take place on Saturday, Feb. 10, at the UFC APEX. Bryczek will face 27-year-old Ihor Potieria from Kyiv, Ukraine in a middleweight bout. Bryczek was originally scheduled to fight 35-year-old Russian, Albert Duraev, but he pulled out with a week remaining before the fight. He will now fight Ihor Potieria.

The Polish newcomer was supposed to make his debut last September against Jacob Malkoun as a replacement for Aliaskhab Khizriev but pulled out before the fight. He is currently on a five-fight winning streak, securing impressive first-round finishes in all. His most recent victory came at Oktagon 45, where he finished Samuel Kristofic with a TKO in just 55 seconds. Before that, he knocked out Lee Chadwick at Oktagon 43 in a little under three minutes.

Bryczek previously competed in FEN, PLMMA, Spartan Fight, and some other combat sport promotions as well. He is curently 17-5 in his MMA career and has 11 KOs/TKOs under his belt.

Robert Bryczek will fight Ihor Potieria at UFC Vegas 85

Bryczek's UFC Vegas 86 opponent, Potieria, is coming down a weight class for the fight on short notice, which some fans suspect may not go so well.

However, he has lost three of his last five fights and is currently on a two-fight losing streak. He last won against Mauricio Rua at UFC 283, after which he got finished in two outings against Carlos Ulberg and Rodolfo Bellato respectively. A change in weight class and a new opponent could just be what he needs to get back to the winning ways.

Other than Hermansson vs. Pyfer in the main event, the UFC Vegas 86 main card will also feature Dan Ige vs. Andre Fili in the co-main event, Brad Tavares vs. Gregory Rodrigues, Michael Johnson vs. Darrius Flowers, and Rodolfo Vieira vs. Armen Petrosyan.