BY JAMES BRYDON
sportsnet.ca
VANCOUVER -- Krzysztof (The Polish Experiment) Soszynski had a moment of panic earlier this week.
He wasn’t scared about his opponent. No, he was nervous he wasn’t going to get to fight at all.
UFC vice president of talent relations Joe Silva called him Monday night to let him know that his opponent Igor Pokrajac, who was already an injury replacement for Anthony Perosh, was now hurt and would have to pull out of their scheduled UFC 131 fight Saturday night at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
“I was getting ready to fly out (of California to B.C.) the next morning, so I was definitely a little concerned,” Soszynski said. “But (Silva) said he was working his butt off to find me a new opponent.
“I told him I’ll fight anybody just find me (someone).”
The Winnipeg light-heavyweight, who was really eager to fight on the Western Canadian show, was relieved Tuesday morning to find an email from Silva saying 28-year-old Mike Massenzio (12-4) had agreed to return to the Octagon and fight him on short notice.
He was also very thankful to the New Jersey native.
“Not too many guys can take a fight on three or four days’ notice and fight in the UFC,” Soszynski said. “I’ve taken some short-term fights on three weeks' notice, but never three days' notice. I’m very happy that he took the fight.”
Soszynski, who had already prepared for Perosh (predominantly a jiu-jitsu fighter) and Pokrajac (a striker), expects a bit of challenge against Massenzio (who’s mostly a wrestler) since he hasn’t seen much of him -- only some footage of him when he fought three times for the UFC. But two of them were in 2008 and his last was in August 2010. Not to mention they were at 185 pounds.
“I’m not sure what kind of shape he’s in and I don’t know much about the guy either,” Soszynski said. “I know ... he’s going to try to take me down and ground me out. That’s what he does with his opponents. He tries to wear them out in the clinch and tries to shoot a lot.
“The gameplan is very simple: Stay on my feet. Or if I can get up every time he takes me down, I’ll get the W.”
Soszynski (25-11-1) also said there was no use in doing any last-minute training with the new change in opponent.
”The body’s not going to work that way. Muscle memory’s key in this sport and if I work on something new my body won’t remember it Saturday night.
Instead the 33-year-old plans to rely on his experience.
“I’ve been in this sport a long time and it gets easier every time. I don’t even think about what my opponent is going to do until ... Saturday night.”
Soszynski, who previously trained under Dan Henderson at Team Quest in Temecula, Calif., has joined Mark Munoz at his fast-expanding gym in Lake Forest, Calif., Reign Training Center. He lives in the San Diego area now, saying he’s been unable to find the same kind of team and same kind of training in Canada.
But don’t call the native of Poland, who lived in Canada since he was 10, unpatriotic -- he still a Canadian and said he’s very excited to come back to his home country to fight.
“I fought in Vancouver once a while back at the beginning of my career. I won my fight there (beating Lee Mein in July 2004). I’m 1-0 in Vancouver. I also love fighting in Montreal. At UFC 97 that was one of the best experiences of my life. The Canadian fans love MMA.”
While Soszynski admits to not being a huge hockey fan because he didn’t grow up playing or watching it, he still has a strong hockey connection.
“I was more of a soccer kid, being raised in Poland. But I definitely follow the Jets. I used to work at the Winnipeg arena back in the day, selling popcorn and candy and stuff like that when I was 13, 14, 15, 16 years old.
Now that the Jets are back in town I’m really excited about the city of Winnipeg getting their hockey back.”
And, yes, he thinks they should be called the Jets.
Got a question for Soszynski? Submit them now, and join him for a live chat via Skype on Thursday at 11 a.m. PT / 2 p.m. ET.
