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By Holli Yargo, MMATorch contributor
Sporting a respectable MMA record of 18-8-1, Krzysztof Soszynski has come a long way from his days as a Canadian professional wrestler. In fact, Sportsnet.ca has the Polish-born fighter ranked #6 in Canada’s mixed martial arts pound-for-pound.
Early on, the Canadian resident showed well with a good mix of submissions and knock-outs before taking his first loss by decision in a small-scale Minnesota show in 2004. He would take two more wins before meeting his first real competition in fellow IFL alum, Matt Horwich, in 2005. From there, he picked up another two losses before getting a fight with Strikeforce which ended in a draw.
He went on to fight for the Los Angeles Anacondas as a heavyweight in the IFL. His record there was punctuated with a near even mix of wins and losses; never able to get one over on the bigger likes of Ben Rothwell or Mike Whitehead.
Unlike many of the IFL athletes, the International Fight League’s demise was a very good thing for Soszynski. While stars like Ryan Schultz, Bart Palaszewski, and Rory Markham failed in the UFC, Soszynski, now fighting at 205, has been on a 6-fight win streak with half of those coming inside the ultimate Octagon.
As expected, he submitted fellow The Ultimate Fighter castmate, Shawn Primm in their UFC debuts. It would be the first of two in a row Submission of the Night awards he would win. The second being even more impressive, as it was against WEC star and retired Marine, Brian Stann. Making quick work of Brazilian, Andre Gusmao, by way of round-one knock-out, The Polish Experiment showed he was now a force to be reckoned with.
Now, with Matt Hamill on the injured list and out of UFC 102, Soszynski will have the chance to truly prove himself by stepping in to face Brandon “The Truth” Vera. Both being well-versed in jiu-jitsu while equally comfortable on the feet, this match-up should play out like a violently executed game of chess.
Vera’s record of 10-3 mostly evolved inside the UFC and is truly threatening. However, his performances of late, before and after his recent drop in weight class, have been somewhat lackluster compared to his earlier fights. In contrast, Soszynski is riding a wave of success that should make the Filipino-American sit up and take notice.
Aside from Couture vs. Nogueira, Vera vs. Soszynski could easily be one of the most fun fights to watch this weekend. I, for one, am looking forward to it.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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