One to Watch: Oleksiy Oliynyk vs. Daniel Omielanczuk

Daniel Omielanczuk (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)

If International Fight Week's festivities left you a little breathless after three nights of entertainment, you better compose yourself as the UFC circus returns just four days removed from UFC 200.

UFC Fight Night: McDonald vs. Lineker (otherwise known as UFC Fight Night 91) takes place in the catchy-sounding Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It is the first ever UFC show to be hosted in the state.

The event was originally slated to feature the tough Tony Ferguson taking on wiry submission artist Michael Chiesa in a fight between two winners of The Ultimate Fighter. However, Chiesa pulled out of the fight citing a back injury towards the end of June and Ferguson will now be facing promotional newcomer Landon Vannatta in the co-main event instead.

Michael McDonald versus John Lineker is a great fight to feature as the headliner, though, with guaranteed fireworks. The middleweight contest between Josh Samman and Tim Boetsch also catches the eye. But, the fight worth watching on Fox Sports tonight is the heavyweight showdown between Ukrainian-Russian Oleksiy "The Boa Constrictor" Oliynyk and Poland's own Daniel Omielanczuk.

If there's anything you could say of the men to hail from Eastern Europe, one thing that instantly springs into mind is their natural toughness. Perhaps it's the water. But, this heavyweight contest showcases two of the finest heavyweight talents to emerge from behind the Iron Curtain in recent times.

Omielanczuk is a well-rounded mixed martial artist who enjoys keeping the fight on the feet, but is more than comfortable in the clinch or down on the mat. However, it's safe to say Oliynyk has tunnel vision when it comes to where he enjoys the fight the most. Never has a nickname been more appropriate – The Boa Constrictor has 41 submission wins to his credit with a variety of rare chokes and other holds, such as scarf hold armlocks, scarf hold headlocks, Ezekiel chokes and more.

Oliynyk's sambo submission stylings are well worth a watch.

Oliynyk is unbeaten in the UFC and is coming off a one-punch KO win over gritty wrestler Jared Rosholt. However, that outing was back in 2014. The Ukrainian-Russian, who is a controversial figure in his original homeland for openly supporting Russian military intervention in Ukraine before becoming a naturalised Russian citizen, has been sidelined with a number of knee surgeries which kept him out of action.

The Boa Constrictor is unbeaten since a 2012 split decision loss to fellow naturalised Russian Jeff Monson. Omielanczuk has picked up a nice head of steam too. After going 1-2 in his first three fights in the Octagon, the Pole has since won two in a row—culminating in a majority decision win in bizarre circumstances against Jarjis Danho at UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Bisping in London's O2 Arena. Danho retired from the fight following an innocuous-looking groin strike in the third round.

Omielanczuk has courted some controversy himself of late. Like a plethora of fellow Eastern European athletes, the Polish brawler tested positive for Meldonium earlier in July. But, despite the positive flag, Omielanczuk remains on the fight card.

This is due to the undetermined and indiscriminate amount of time it takes for the drug to completely flush out of one's system—not ideal if the ban is imposed from January when you've been legally using the substance not long before then. Islam Makhachev, for instance, claimed he hadn't taken the supposed performance enhancer for over 13 months and was still given a ban by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) following a positive test. That suspension has since been lifted.

Perhaps they had second thoughts on their ill-prepared attempts to tackle the drug? Maybe they read my piece on this very subject following Alexander Povetkin's hasty suspension by the World Anti-Doping Agency? Just saying. Here's what the UFC had to say about the test: "The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) informed Daniel Omielanczuk of a potential Anti-Doping Policy Violation involving Meldonium, a prohibited substance on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List.

"USADA further informed UFC that due to recent WADA statements regarding the handling of Meldonium cases, they will not be issuing a provisional suspension to Omielanczuk at this time. Accordingly, Omielanczuk has not been removed from his scheduled bout against Alexy Oleinik in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on July 13, 2016."

Luckily for us, USADA realized their error and the fight is still happening. Don't miss it.