Andre Petroski plans to continue to prove he’s the best grappler at middleweight by beating Jacob Malkoun at UFC Atlantic City

Andre Petroski has made it clear that he believes he’s the best grappler in the middleweight division and he wants to continue to prove that.

Petroski has been calling out the top grapplers since signing with the UFC and had a ton of success early on. However, in his last fight, he stepped up on short notice to face Michel Pereira and he suffered a first-round knockout loss.

Despite the loss, Petroski says he has no regrets over taking the fight on short notice.

“It’s a good question, I don’t have regrets in terms of taking the fight. In life in general, shoot for the stars, end up at the moon type of thing. I do have regrets in not keeping my weight in a striking distance outside of camp,” Petroski said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “I’ve always been a short-notice guy, that was my third short-notice fight, all three were on less than two weeks’ notice. They know I’m always the short-notice guy but I just never got that heavy, I got to Vegas and I was like 209.5.”

Following the loss, Andre Petroski circled this date as his return as his first pro MMA fight was in Atlantic City. He also lives close to the venue, so when he got the call to face Jacob Malkoun at UFC Atlantic City he jumped at the chance.

“I live about an hour from Atlantic City. My first ever MMA fight was in Atlantic City, so to be back there, it’s an honor, it’s awesome, and to be back on the first event the UFC has been since like 2015 or whenever it was, it’s a huge honor. It’s something I’ll be able to tell my kids that I fought at Boardwalk Hall for the UFC,” Petroski said.

Getting to fight Jacob Malkoun is also exciting for Andre Petroski as it’s another grappler he can fight. It’s also someone that Petroski believes he matches up well with as he expects to finish the Aussie.

“It’s a name that they have offered before and it is a match that does excite me,” Petroski said. “I continue to make the argument that I’m the best grappler in the middleweight division, these are the types of matchups that excite me, I have a base in grappling, my start was in grappling, so another test to show that my grappling is the best in the division…

“He is going to be outmatched on the feet, he will be forced to shoot and then he’s in my world. He’s going to get into some trouble, I don’t see it going the distance. All my fights are exciting, I’ve never had a boring fight, if you watch all my fights they are all exciting. I don’t see it going the distance,” Petroski added.

Should Andre Petroski beat Jacob Malkoun at UFC Atlantic City, he hopes to get a matchup with Rodolfo Vieira as he wants to continue to beat all the best grapplers at 185lbs.

“I see it being able to get someone if not in the top 15, at least the top 20. I want those grappler matchups, I love the Rodolfo Vieira matchup, he’s a legend of jiu-jitsu. Obviosuly, I love the Bo Nickal fight, I find it hard to believe that won’t happen down the line,” Petroski concluded.