Winnipeg’s Krzysztof Soszynskihas done it all. He's been a professional wrestler, a bodybuilder, a mixed martial arts promoter, a reality TV star, even a houseman at the Winnipeg Fairmont Hotel. But Saturday night he puts all those jobs behind him as he steps into the role of cage fighter and faces down Brazilian striker Andre Gusmao on Saturday at UFC 98, just five weeks since his last fight.

The memorable star of Spike TV’s The Ultimate Fighter reality series took the fight on short notice after 6'0” light heavyweight Houston Alexander withdrew due to injury. Fighters usually take 3 or 4 months off between UFC contests, but Soszynski didn’t hesitate to jump back in the octagon a mere 5 weeks after besting Brain Stann at UFC 97.

“As soon as I got the call from (trainer and UFC fighter) Dan Henderson, I said yes immediately,” says the 6'1” 205 lb tough guy. I didn’t even think twice.”

Soszynski’s big break came when he was invited to try out for Spike TV’s popular The Ultimate Fighter reality show, where hopefuls compete for a six figure UFC fight contract. After The Polish Experiment’s attention grabbing turn as a prankster was ended by an elimination loss to Vinicius Magalhaes, he returned to the ‘Peg and was surprised by the reception.

“You’ve lived there for 20 years as a regular Joe and then all of a sudden you do something that people love and they love you for doing it and now you’ve got these fans everywhere.”

Along with the fans he’s gained, the 31-year-old has gained respect and he is now listed by Canadian television channel Sportsnet as being the number 6 ranked pound-for-pound fighter in Canada. Number one on that list is another bald, muscular, well-rounded Canadian fighter, current UFC welterweight champion George-St-Pierre.

“He started the whole MMA scene in Canada. If it wasn’t for him, most Canadians wouldn’t be watching the UFC. I’ve trained with him, I’ve hung out with him, and he’s a great ambassador for the sport in Canada. He’s the best fighter in Canada period. I’m hoping to follow in his footsteps.”

If Soszynski’s submission win against Brian Stann on April 18th was any indication, he’s well on his way.

“What I learned from that fight is that I belonged in the UFC. I’m here to stay. I’m not just a one-fight winner from The Ultimate Fighter show.”

The 205 pound fighter has finished his last three opponents by wrenching their arms up and behind their backs in a kimora lock.

“Everybody’s got their own little thing. Strikers have their own combinations; wrestlers have their favorite take-downs. I studied jui-jitsu for three years. It was the very first submission that I ever learned.’

Ruminating on his next challenger, Andre Gusmao, “The Polish Experiement” says, “He thinks I’m gonna probably take him down as I did in my last fight. He’s gonna be trying to defend take-downs and to be honest that’s not really my game plan at all. I think he just wants to stand and bang. If the fight does go to the ground he’s gonna use his jiu-jitsu to get a submission over me.”

Where his own fight advantage lies, Soszynski says, is with experience.

“Having over thirty fights compared to his six is pretty big. I noticed in his last fight against Jon Jones that his hands were not as good as I thought they were, and obviously his take down defense is not very good. I think I can exploit him inside the clinch and perhaps standing as well.”

With two full sleeves of tattoos, broad shoulders and a big, bald dome, Soszynski looks like the kind of guy that crushes heads for a living. But when you ask him about his favorite tattoo you get a peek at a different side of the man. “My wife and I have the same tattoo on our ring finger. It says 'my love' in Polish one way and the other way it says 'mon amour.'”

“The Polish Experiment” lives with his wife and son in Temecula, California where he trains at Team Quest, but he still proudly calls Winnipeg home.

“I have so many fond memories of Winnipeg. I still travel back at least 4, 5, 6 times a year to visit family and friends.”

While Vancouver council continues to waffle on the topic of MMA, Winnipeg has been hosting mixed martial arts events for years. But a recent poorly run fight and subsequent knee-jerk political reaction by Winnipeg Councillor Grant Nordman, has put the Manitoba capital’s growing MMA industry in jeopardy.

Earlier this year, 18-year-old fighter Dean Lewis landed in hospital after going three brutal and bloody rounds with Eric Perez. Lewis' cornerman left early to prepare for his own fight, so nobody was at hand to throw in the towel as Lewis got pounded from pillar to post. The referee, who should have stopped the contest early, failed to do so, and by the end of the fight, the ring – and Lewis – was a bloody mess.

Despite his injuries, Lewis has made it clear he wants to fight again.

“I think everything was blown out of proportion big time.” Says Soszynski. “He was taken well care of and he’s fine. A politician in the city was thinking about trying to get a ban on MMA but I’m pretty sure it’s not going to happen.”

Soszynski’s last fight was scheduled on the undercard, but it received a bump and aired on the live pay-per-view broadcast when he won with a smooth submission hold. Look for the always entertaining Soszynski to have this good fortune repeated again this Saturday.

Fellow Canadian Tim Hague will appear in his UFC debut against knee-breaking kickboxer Pat Barry on the same card which is headlined by a wrestling vs karate title fight between 13-0-1 light heavyweight champ 'Sugar' Rashad Evans and 14-0 contender Lyoto 'The Dragon' Machida. A grudge match decider between former middleweight champs Matt Hughes and Matt “The Terror” Serra rounds out the card.

http://www.globalwinnipeg.com/pulse2010/Krzysztof+Soszynski+Canada+King+Kimura/1621579/story.html