UFC 110: Krzysztof Soszynski Says He Is Ready for the American Psycho

Krzysztof Soszynski has become known for accepting fights on short notice and being quite successful in doing so.

Case in point: Soszynski stepped in on short notice twice for the UFC in 2009. First, "The Polish Experiment" took on Andre Gusmao at UFC 98 and won via first round knockout. 

Following that performance, Soszynski filled in for an injured Matt Hamill to take on Brandon Vera at UFC 102. With only five weeks left before the fight, Soszynski hardly had the proper time to prepare for a top light heavyweight of Vera's stature and went on to drop a hard fought decision loss to Vera.

With three wins and one loss in his UFC career, he has lived up to the hype that surrounded him during his stint on The Ultimate Fighter's eighth season and at UFC 110 on February 20, Soszynski is set to face TUF season one alum Stephan Bonnar.

So how good does it feel for Soszynski to have the opportunity of putting together a full fight camp for Bonnar?

“Full camp is fantastic. I had 14 weeks to get ready for this fight. After the Brandon Vera fight, I had to go through elbow surgery and I had 11 bone chips removed from my elbow. I had some time off to recover and recuperate," Soszynski said.

"With 14 weeks, I really get to focus on my conditioning, focusing slowly on the technique aspect of this fight and game planning everything. It’s been really helpful and great. I want to thank the UFC for giving me a full camp for this one.” 

A full fight camp is exactly what Soszynski hopes will help him make his ascent to the top and be fully healthy for the first time in a long time when he battles Bonnar.

"Knock on wood: this camp has been fantastic. It’s like I have a new elbow. I can do everything with it and it hasn’t bothered me at all. The doctor did a great job on it and I’m ready 100%," he explained.

"You always get small injuries here and there, but no camp is perfect. I’m very pleased with the way this camp is going. I’m no longer the 25-year-old guy I once was. I’m 32 now and I feel fantastic and very pleased with everything."

Being healthy and feeling fresh, Soszynski decided to take former opponent Vera up on an offer of coming to train alongside him at Alliance MMA in Chula Vista, California. While still returning to work with former Pride FC champion Dan Henderson, Soszynski gave credit to both camps.

“I’ve been training with Vera, Phil Davis, Lew Polley and Travis Brown who’s a monster. I’ve been doing a lot of my training there with their coaching staff and those fighters. They’ve been helping me tremendously along with Ed Buckley who’s my striking coach and he’s been helping me tremendously for this fight," he said.

"Dan Henderson - I’ve been working with him twice a week on my wrestling and his great clinch game. That’s where I’m learning my uppercuts and dirty boxing and so far I’ve had great help.”

With full health and a new camp on his side, Soszynski feels that he is fully prepared for anything Bonnar will bring into the Octagon.

“I’m not expecting to go into this fight and win this fight in the first or second round. Most likely this is going to be a brutal fight, a lot of blood everywhere on both sides. I know he’s going to come out very aggressive. I mean his job could be on the line with him losing his last two fights. He’s going to be preparing 100 percent, be aggressive and come out firing to finish this fight," Soszynski explained.

"I’m the same way having my last fight be a loss to Brandon Vera. I’m going to go in there and try to finish him as well. I know that conditioning is going to be a big factor in this fight. I’ve been working really hard with several division one wrestlers here at Alliance on my clinch game. I think that’s where I believe I am a little bit better and can win this fight," he explained.

When asked about the statements that Bonnar made to ufc.com about what he thinks about Soszynski’s physical and mental game, Soszynski was not concerned.

“I’ve watched many of Bonnar’s fights and he is very technical, durable, has a great jiu jitsu game, very long and lanky, and has good hands as well.  I’m not too worried about his comments. What else is he going to say? He has to say he’s better then me. He’s gonna say he’s gonna knock me out, submit me or take my heart or whatever. I could say the same thing about him. I feel I can finish him standing," he said.

"I can finish him on the ground. If I push him hard enough, I could break him too and you know he has to say those things but we’ll see when the fight happens. I think the fight is going to come down to conditioning because he’s very durable and he’s had 10 fights in the UFC. I believe 8 of them have gone the distance. Since he’s been in the UFC, the only fights he’s lost have been by decision.”

With the excitement of the bout awaiting and Soszynski looking to take advantage of the fresh training at Alliance, he hopes that the fight will make it to the televised portion of the card.

But whether it reaches the televised portion or not, the bout will go a long way in determining exactly where Soszynski is at in the light heavyweight division. A propelling victory will most certainly move Soszynski one step closer to the top.