Fighters Only (great site, great magazine!) have recently had an interview with Mariusz Pudzianowski and they had some probing questions for him. I won’t ruin the whole interview you can read that at the Fighters Only site but here are some of my favourite parts:
“Butterbean, you said that Pudzian hits like a girl. Come to Poland and I’ll show you how Polish girls hit!”
“After your last fight in the States you promised to be back in the ring and that the fans will see a different Pudzian. Please tell us what changes we can expect.
You’ll see a much leaner and fifteen kilograms lighter Pudzian. When I started MMA trainings I weighed one hundred and thirty-eight kilograms, now it’s only one hundred and eighteen. I’m smaller, but much faster.“
Mariusz Pudzianowski vs Butterbean to be fought in Poland. So after all that chat from ol’ Butterbean it looks like KSW have taken him up on the offer and have gone and secured the bout for KSW 14, which will be held on the 18th September in Lodz Atlas Arena. Butterbean, real name Eric Esch recently decided to comment on Pudzianowski’s MMA calibre. An interesting move considering he is an exec at Moosin who featured Pudzianowski vs Sylvia and happily cashed in on his Polish appeal. Butterbean commented that “Pudzianowski has no stand-up and as strong as he is, he punches like a girl.” – That’s fair enough really as anyone who has seen the fight can see the punches thrown are weak as.
Martin Lewandowski, co-owner of the federation KSW, has come out in response to comments made by Butterbean, Eric Esch regarding the fighting abilities of Mariusz Pudzianowski. Lewandowski states:
“I don’t understand the reasoning behind Esch’s statements. One would think it’s just a publicity stunt. However, if Butterbean is really interested in this bout, we can seriously consider it. But in order to do that, we need more precise declarations from Esch.
’Butterbean’ is an MMA superstar in the USA. Mariusz would have to deal with an extremely experienced opponent, who’s also an uncompromising competitor in the ring. His fighting style is very brutal and aggressive. If Mariusz improves his conditioning — I know he is working on it with professionals — this fight could end up being an unforgettable show for all KSW fans. Once both sides express interest in the fight, KSW Federation will try to book this bout.”
Lewandowski also states that, as a representative of Moosin, Esch was happy to use Pudzianowski to pull in the Polish audience. So who do you think would win between Butterbean and Pudzian? Comment now!
Well I’m a little late with this ones as I’ve been a bit busy but as I’m sure most of you are aware Butterbean (Eric Esch) has been telling the world what it already knows:
“I know he allegedly broke his foot in the fight against Sylvia, but he didn’t show anything before he quit. Pudzianowski has no stand-up and as strong as he is, he punches like a girl. All he does is throw arm punches. He needs a lot of help. He’s the 5-time World’s Strongest Man but hits like a 130-pounder, not a strong man who weighs 270 pounds. He doesn’t have the skill level to get to the level he wants to fight.”
“Once he gets a stand-up game – you can’t have a ground game working without one – he could be a force in MMA. He still needs some work on his ground game, too. We all know he’s very strong but that’s not enough at the highest level of MMA. I don’t know who has been coaching him but that trainer should be fired. Pudzianowski needs to prove himself, showing he has a good stand-up game by beating a good MMA fighter, before he gets another big fight like a spot on the October 9th show.”
Doing a bit of skimming for news I’ve come across an interesting article on Polish site Interia.pl which mentions that Moosin are pleased with what they saw from Mariusz Pudzianowski………or at least from the Polish contingent of paying customers that turned up! Synical, me, no Anyway Corey Fischer, a director of Moosin, admitted that Kimbo Slice, real name Kevin Ferguson (not quite as cool).
From what we’ve heard Pudzian is already lined up for a September fight with KSW, no-one named as yet since the Nastula fight was pulled and moved to next year. It is hard to see that he would change that fight to train hard and then line up against a tougher opponent but we shall see. We’ll keep you updated.
So Mariusz Pudzianowski’s MMA career hit a bump in the shape of Tim Sylvia but judging from the official Moosin MMA Salaries for the God of Martial Arts show I’m he’s found a few reasons to be cheerful, or maybe he found 110,000 reasons to smile. Yes that’s right despite losing due to being gassed and having no visible way or stopping Sylvia Mariusz Pudzianowski was paid $110,000 for the fight. It gets better. Tim Sylvia was only given $50,000 despite beating him. You’ve got to laugh really.
That’s right Mariusz Pudzianowski is physically intimidating according to the article over atBleacher Report. They’ve a good little article about the 10 most physically imposing MMA fighters. There is a good mix of both old and new fighters and coming in at number one is Mariusz Pudzianowski. Go check out the report. I’ve always maintained that a man of his immense power, i.e. Mariusz Pudzianowski could rip a limb off you if he wanted to, will come good and now he’s getting the correct training (soon) we should see improvements.
So it seems that the Mariusz Pudzianowski vs Pawel Nastula MMA fight has been postponed until potentially next March. Reading Pudzian.pl it indicates that to face an opponent like Pawel Nastula he requires more technique and fitness training. Damn right Pudzian’s fitness is pretty poor at the moment, most likely from lugging that huge frame around. The website does state that Mariusz Pudzianowski will continue his MMA career against a different opponent at KSW XIV in September but no opponent has been mentioned as yet. Most likely another confidence booster for him and a chance to try out his new training.
That’s right, it was a bit obvious but the big man, Pudzianowski, has finally realised to actually become half decent in MMA he needs to start training with better fighters and better coaches, ideally those not in Poland as they all idiolise him. I’ve suggested previously the UK as its closer to Poland or the US as their are more team to pick from and probably a better overall standard. Pudzianowski has decideded to go to the US. WP.pl suggestes he has been in talks with American Top Team and Sityodtong.
Here’s what Pudzianowski and his coach have to say (in dodgy google translation):
Pudzianowski: I have to train with the elite, if I want to compete with it afterwards. My goal is a world summit and will do everything to make him go
Miroslaw Okniński: Three, four months in a good club in the U.S. could prove decisive.
So there you have it. Lets see what some good training will do for the Pudzian.
Pudzianowski Pawel Nastula is the next fight for the polish beast, Mariusz Pudzianowski. Coming off the back of a loss to Tim Sylvia and two fights in two weeks Pudzianowki will now take on Pawel Nastula, who is 1 – 4 – 0. Pavel Nastula is another Pole but of more note is he was 1995 and 1997 Judo World Champion, and 1996 gold medallist at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. Pawel Natsula has mainly fought in PRIDE however had a pretty tough welcome to the origanisation fighting Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Aleksander Emelianenko. The fight is planned for Septemeber.
Anyway Corey Fischer, a director of Moosin, admitted that Kimbo Slice, real name Kevin Ferguson (not quite as cool).
