Baisangur Susurkaev keeps finding new ways to make difficult fights look like statements. At UFC 328, the unbeaten middleweight prospect improved to 12-0 after choking out Djorden Santos in the third round—but what fans didn’t realize at the time was that he had been fighting hurt long before the finish.

The rising contender, who is also Welterweight champion Islam Makhachev‘s teammate, later revealed that he broke his right hand midway through the second round, forcing him to completely rethink how he would win.

“If not knockout he was a good chin,” Susurkaev explained while wearing a black brace after the fight. “And he broke my hand. Second round, first or second minute, I broke my hand, and I still tried to knock him out.

“I punched him with this hand, and this guy, this crazy warrior, has a good chin, and I needed to submit him.”

That confession adds a new layer to what unfolded, because despite suffering a significant injury, Baisangur Susurkaev continued to throw with the injured hand, looking for a finish the hard way before eventually changing gears. And that adjustment may be what impressed fans the most at UFC 328.

For much of the fight, Santos marched forward, taking blows, landing his jab, and refusing to give up, even when a nasty cut opened up on his head. However, once Islam Makhachev‘s teammate realized that power alone would not be enough to finish the fight and that his own hand was compromised, he transitioned from showman to closer.

He clinched, dragged the Brazilian to the ground, and locked in a rear-naked choke to secure another victory in the third round. Undefeated, now battle-tested through injury, and already talking about the top 15, Susurkaev is starting to look less like a prospect and more like a problem.

What’s next for Baisangur Susurkaev after the UFC 328 win?

Now comes the part that truly defines fast-rising contenders: whether the UFC sees them as hype worth protecting or a threat worth throwing into deep water. Baisangur Susurkaev has made it clear what he wants next, and it will not be another sluggish climb.

After improving to 12-0 at UFC 328 and proving his ability to complete fights despite a broken hand, the unbeaten middleweight is publicly requesting ranked opposition, claiming he has already done enough to avoid the traditional waiting queue.

And the names he is targeting show exactly how highly he thinks of himself.

“[Santos] is not famous,” Susurkaev said on UFC 328 media day. “He’s a good fighter, maybe better than Bo Nickal. I still want big names, someone famous. Now I don’t have interest after this fight to fight with Bo Nickal.

“I think he’s scared of me. I want to fight Roman Dolidze, Marvin Vettori. Top 15, top 20, I’m ready. And I hope they will give me [that], after this fight. I hope.”

That is ambitious talk, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss it as mere noise as he continues to back it up inside the cage. Add in the UFC’s clear support for him, including his media-day presence despite being an early prelim fighter, and it’s clear Dana White sees something marketable in him as well.

At the very least, one reward is most likely on its way. Baisangur Susurkaev’s submission finish at UFC 328 just made him eligible for Dana White’s new $25,000 finish bonus incentive, which is meant to reward stoppages in addition to the usual performance bonuses. But money is certainly not what motivates him. The rankings and recognition are.

And if the UFC chooses to give him what he is asking for, middleweight may quickly realize that Baisangur Susurkaev is not simply just chasing the top 15; he is trying to kick the door down.