Over the weekend, in the main event of UFC St. Petersburg, Russian heavyweight contender Alexey Oleynik stepped into the Octagon with former Strikeforce, DREAM and K-1 heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem.
Oleynik had some moments of success in this brief but thrilling encounter. Yet in the end, he came up short, succumbing to a storm of Overeem strikes late in the first round.
Speaking on Instagram on Sunday, Alexey Oleynik updated his fans with a pair of quick statements.
See what the Russian grappler had to say below:
“I promise to be better next time,” he wrote in the first of two Instagram posts. “Thank you all so much for your support!”
“The winner has many friends. The loser has them real!” he added in a second post.
With this TKO loss to Alistair Overeem, Alexey Oleynik returns to the loss column after two straight wins: a pair of submissions over Junior Albini and Mark “The Super Samoan” Hunt. These wins were preceded by a TKO defeat at the hands of Curtis Blaydes, and a pair of submission wins over Travis Browne and Victor Pesta.
What do you think is next for Alexey Oleynik after UFC St. Petersburg?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 4/22/2019.