Łukasz Świrydowicz enters his Battle Arena Birmingham clash motivated to retain his welterweight strap.
The Polish international attained Battle Arena gold back in March with a dominating R1 victory over Mush Aslani. Since then, the champion has been patiently waiting for a fight. On Sunday evening, he’s got one. Świrydowicz (6-6) will square off with Daniel Grbic at Battle Arena Birmingham in The Eastside Rooms.
We had the opportunity to speak with Łukasz Świrydowicz ahead of his championship battle. Read the full interview below.
Interview With Łukasz Świrydowicz
Firstly, thanks for the time, champ. The most important question is, how are you feeling physically and mentally during the fight week? Is fight week a stressful time for you? Or do you enjoy the whole process of the build-up?
Hello, thanks for the message. It is a pleasure to talk to you.
I feel great both mentally and physically. I have made the whole plan when it comes to the preparation, so there is no stress, but I feel relieved after hard work, and I am waiting for a fight.
You will return to Birmingham after attaining the Battle Arena welterweight title in your last outing with Mush Aslani. How happy were you to attach your name to that strap? Although you got Mush out of there in the first round, were you completely satisfied with your performance, or where you left feeling you made some mistakes? Talk me through it.
Of course, that victory with Mush is a great honour for me, and I enjoyed the fight more so than the belt. You can just win, but you could also win and accomplish the goals of your team and coaches. The fight went as planned, defending the takedowns at all costs and showing my best performance. This then leads to the win. I would like to give a big thanks to my trainers at ronin gym and Viking fight club, especially to Joe Slilk Cummins.
Łukasz Świrydowicz Talks Title Fight Prep
Does defending your title add more fuel to the fire when preparing and undergoing a training camp? Do you amp up the training or alter your training in any way? Or does everything just stay the same in camp?
The fight for the title is like any other fight for me. I have put in my all and am 100% prepared. The title itself is a big thing for both my team and my family. I want to fight at the highest possible level until the end and provide interesting fights. This is the goal I am striving to accomplish.
You turned professional in 2015 and have been around the block competing on great shows. The sport has grown tremendously since then. What are some of the biggest differences you’ve seen in the sport since you started, up until now?
These exact years have been a great time, lots of experience and a great adventure. Unfortunately, the sport went in a different direction at that time. Too much talk, too much social media and too many feats. If not for good people who keep me enjoying training, I would have left mma a long time ago.
Pro-career
You stand at (6-6) in your professional career, always taking on tough fights that are offered. Truthfully, how would you sum up your career thus far? Are you happy, or would you have done anything differently if you had the opportunity to reset?
You know I work hard. I really put 10 to 12 workouts a week in everyone, putting 100% of myself into that. I am glad that I could take part in such events, and It will be a great memory. My career was not planned. Many tactical errors and a little lack of luck. There were also two wrong verdicts where I was robbed of my wins. What would I change? I would win the record for sure for all 12 fights, haha
I like to ask guests that I’ve never spoken to before how they got into MMA. Do you have any interesting stories in that aspect?
This is not a pretty story from a movie. I have always wanted to train in MMA. Before I discovered this sport, I trained in Taekwondo, Wrestling, Kickboxing and Boxing, but it was for mma that I lost my head. One curiosity is that I was led to my first professional fight by problems with the police. I happily avoided a prison sentence and felt that I had to change something in my life.
Throughout your career, it’s always win a fight, lose a fight, on a bit of a repetitive cycle, failing to pick up any momentum to find yourself on a winning streak. Why do you think that is, and how important is it for you to finally break that cycle on Sunday evening and win two fights back-to-back?
That’s a very good question. I believe nothing happens without reason behind it. The path of a worrier is full of turns and obstacles; it is important to be strong and not give up. The journey is just a test in which you have to stay strong and overcome the difficulties of it.
Opposition
Daniel Grbic is the man that is hopeful of taking your belt. What do you know about your opponent, if anything? How do you feel you match up against one another?
Daniel is a good fighter, I am glad that he will have a chance to fight for the belt, but he still has to work to be in this place as I am now. You know it’s a fight, but at the moment, I’m a much better fighter.
Have you managed to watch any tape of your opponent? How do you prepare for someone with limited footage? Is there anything you are expecting him to bring to the table that you’ve not seen before?
It is true that one or two fights have been watched, and there was an analysis, but most of all, I have my plan, and I will implement it.
Lastly, can you give us a final message to your opponent and a final fight prediction?
Thank you, and I invite everyone to watch the Battle Arena this Sunday. Greetings to you, my team Ronin, VFC and family. Thank you for your support all.
Featured image credits to Battle Arena Birmingham
