Makwan Amirkhani Plans On Retiring Dennis Siver

Makwan Amirkhani (12-2) has made a name for himself in his short amount of time with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). “Mr. Finland” arrived on the scene by blasting Andy Ogle, earning a TKO victory in just eight seconds. He followed up his debut performance with a submission win over Masio Fullen via rear-naked choke at UFC Fight Night 69.

With two quick victories inside the Octagon, Amirkhani has his sights set on a top-15 opponent. Not only is he shooting for ranked opposition, he has a competitor in mind (via MMAFighting.com):

“After this fight, I knew that only the sky is the — actually there’s no limits. I was looking at myself in the mirror and asking myself, ‘can I be a good opponent to guys in the top-15 in the world?’ I can be. Now I just want to train and get much better, then I’m going to make Dennis Siver retire.”

While aiming for ranked opponents is a huge step forward for “Mr. Finland,” he’s eyeing a fighter who has lost his last two bouts. Amirkhani explained why he is targeting Siver above others:

“When I just saw him fighting against (Conor) McGregor, I told two of my managers, I said, ‘I can beat this guy.’ And nobody said that I could beat him. They were quiet. They didn’t say anything. Now I feel like, oh, it’s like that? You guys don’t believe me, huh? I’m going after Siver.”

While a bout with Siver would be ideal, “Mr. Finland” is willing to throw leather with anyone the UFC puts in front of him. Just don’t expect him to forget about Germany’s featherweight bruiser:

“But the UFC will decide who I’m going to fight. I just say yes. If it’s not Siver in the next fight, then eventually I will fight him.”