Misha Cirkunov is a bit puzzled that Nikita Krylov isn’t with the UFC anymore.

Cirkunov’s last bout was against Krylov back in Dec. 2016. Cirkunov took a first-round submission victory over “The Miner.” It ended up being Krylov’s last bout in the UFC as he ended up signing with Fight Nights Global.

Cirkunov said he didn’t see Krylov’s UFC exit coming:

“I’m very surprised they didn’t keep him. He’s a very young guy, and he is a supreme athlete. He’s a very, very athletic guy. He’s very light on the feet, very tall, good reach, amazing skillset. I think he definitely adds serious, serious firepower for the weight class. Just because I was able to finish him in the first round doesn’t really mean anything.”

As far as defeating Krylov goes, Cirkunov said any fighter can be caught on an off night and feels Krylov is a talented fighter.

“Anyone can have a bad day. I can have a bad day, Conor McGregor had a really bad day (against Nate Diaz). It doesn’t mean anything. Overall, look at his previous fights before he fought me: He was on a five-fight winning streak, all finishes, either with vicious knockouts or submissions.”