The Polish Experiment needs repairs

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This article was published 04/12/2010 (5622 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HE’S facing at least four surgeries in the next few weeks but Krzysztof (The Polish Experiment) Soszynski, Winnipeg’s most successful Ultimate Fighting Championship athlete, isn’t worried.

Life is pretty good these days for Ksos of SoCal.

Soszynski, who now lives and trains in Southern California, recently secured his fifth UFC career win with a unanimous decision over Goran Reljic in a light heavyweight bout at UFC 122 on Nov. 13 in Oberhausen, Germany.

The fight went the full three five-minute rounds with the result increasing Soszynski’s UFC star power. Reljic was released by the UFC after his third straight loss.

“It was a big win because I was coming off a really tough loss to Stephan Bonnar (UFC 116 July 3) that kind of sent me back down the ladder a bit and this win had brought me back up to somewhere in the top 15 in the UFC in the light heavyweight division,” Soszynski said in a telephone interview from Lake Forest, Calif., where he trains out of Reign Training Centre under UFC middleweight Mark Munoz.

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Soszynski began training at Reign a few months ago.

“I’m looking at cracking the top 10… another win or two and I’m right there in the mix for maybe a run at the title.”

He expects he could be ready for his next UFC challenger in spring of 2011 after he looks after himself for the next few months.

“I’m actually quite beaten up. I have some knee issues, a broken nose, my (right) hand is busted, my elbow is chipped so I’m going to take some time off and have some surgeries to get everything fixed,” he said, noting some of the issues have built up over time and it’s all “part of the game, part of the sport.” He needs surgery on both knees, his left elbow, his nose to correct a deviated septum and possibly his right hand.

Soszynski surprised the UFC 122 post-fight press conference when he revealed he fought the entire third round with a broken and numbed right hand.

Reports out of the fight were that he won by capitalizing on his improved striking ability and outlasted Reljic, who tired in the crucial third round.

“I’m developing a conditioning system for mixed martial arts that I implemented for this fight. Myself and Mark Munoz, who won his fight (UFC 123) a week later, we both worked on our conditioning with my system and it worked really well,” said Soszynski.

“I noticed Goran was getting tired in the second round and was gassed out in the third round. I saw him sitting down between the second and third round and I knew I had him right there. My conditioning definitely helped me out big time.”

Soszynski, who was born in Poland but moved to Winnipeg with his family when he was 10 years old, returns to Winnipeg frequently.

His parents and teenage son live here as does a circle of close friends. He trains at Professional Edge when he can and patronizes local businesses for his training gear and supplements.

“I put my heart and soul into this sport and almost everybody I trained with or who I was coached under at the beginning of my career never gave me a shot that I’d make it this far,” said Soszynski, who lives with wife Genevieve. “To be in the UFC, to have a 5-2 record in the UFC, to have exciting fights, on pay-per-view or Spike TV, it’s a great feeling. The hard work is paying off and everything is going in the right direction right now.”

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca