THE CANADIAN PRESS
ORILLIA, Ont. — Canadian Chris (The Polish Hammer) Horodecki was fighting more than his opponent Saturday night. He was also struggling with the loss of a close friend.
He showed heart and mental toughness, persevering to win a unanimous decision over Chris Saunders at the Bellator 47 mixed martial arts event at Casino Rama.
Before the fight he dedicated his performance to his friend, Jake Sawicki, passed away unexpectedly last week.
"Last week it was just kind of a shock," Horodecki said. "A close, close friend of mine, a guy I grew up with, he was fine, went to work Wednesday night, no problems, and Thursday morning his sister found him purple, in his bed. Dead.
"He ended up having a bacteria in his stomach. It spread to his lungs and his heart stopped."
Despite dealing with the loss, the native of London, Ont., decided to continue with his debut for the Bellator promotion.
"Everything was set for the fight at that point and I knew I had to fight. He would want me to fight and that’s what I did," Horodecki said. "The visitation was on Monday and it was tough, the funeral on Tuesday. Burying a close friend is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I just fought on and I’m glad everything worked out the way it did."
Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney was impressed by Horodecki’s focus and mental fortitude.
"Just from an emotional perspective, that’s jarring in any kind of facet of everyday life," Rebney said. "But to deal with something like that when you’re preparing to perform on a huge stage, in a really enclosed, micro-intense environment that is MMA … this isn’t a football game where you can hide amongst 11 people, you’re right out there for everyone to see and your performance is dissected. I think it’s admirable."
Known for his precision striking, Horodecki showed improved ground skills, taking Saunders down at will.
All three judges scored the fight 30-27 for the 23-year-old native of London, Ont., who was cheered by the large crowd.
"I’ve tracked (Horodecki’s) career since he was a very young fighter," Rebney said. "Coming into this sport a boy against men, you know, he’s 23 years old. His career could go on for another decade plus at an extremely high level. The sky’s the limit in terms of what he wants to do in his career."
Bellator’s next lightweight tournament is scheduled to begin in early 2012 and Rebney said there is a possibility Horodecki could be a participant. Rebney said Horodecki’s next fight will likely be a non-tournament bout in October or November.
In a Bellator featherweight tournament semifinal, Marlon Sandro defeated Nazareno Malegarie by unanimous decision in what became more of a boxing match. Both men threw haymakers for a crowd-pleasing 15 minutes, with Sandro landing the harder, more frequent blows. All three judges scored the bout 30-27 for Sandro, who improved to 19-2.
The other semifinal saw Illinois native Pat Curran win a decision over England’s Ronnie (Kid Ninja) Mann in a fight where both men seemed tentative, prompting a woman in the crowd to yell: "We came to see a fight!"
The judges scored the fight 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 for Curran, who will fight Sandro later this year to determine the winner of Bellator’s featherweight tournament.
The preliminary card featured several up-and-coming Canadian fighters. Alex Ricci from Woodbridge, Ont., improved to 3-0 as he defeated Toronto’s Alka Matewa via TKO at 2:40 of the second round.
Featherweight Will Romero of Hamilton defeated Daniel Langbeen via unanimous decision in a bout that saw Romero show superior technique both striking and grappling. The judges scored the bout 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 for Romero, who picked up his first win with Bellator and improved his record to 6-3.
Jesse Gross of London, Ont. was choked unconscious by Brazilian Alexandre Bezerra just 88 seconds into his Bellator debut. Bezerra took the fight to the ground early and locked in a rear-naked choke. Gross refused to tap, but lost consciousness forcing referee Dan Miragliotta to stop the fight.
Also on the card, 264-pound Neil (Goliath) Grove made quick work of fellow heavyweight Zak Jensen, winning via TKO two minutes into the first round.
