"I've trained with Brandon Vera myself a couple of years ago, so I know how good he is. It's a tough fight, but we've seen a lot of tape on him, so we know what he's good at and we know his weak spots and we're going to try to exploit those weaknesses
It's going to be a great fight. Brandon Vera and I are going to put on a great show for the fans and I'm very excited. Krzysztof Soszynski is going to be 4-0 in the UFC after this fight," stated UFC light heavyweight Krzysztof Soszynski as he talked about his upcoming clash with Brandon Vera at UFC 102. Check it out!
PC: How is everything going Krzysztof?
KS: Everything is going great! I started my camp last week and I'm just busting ass basically.
PC: You're taking staying active to another level man. I know you feel it's important to stay active like this.
KS: It's very nice. I feel like I'm on a role. I'm on a 3-fight winning streak in the UFC. I feel comfortable in that cage and things are going well for me. The busier I am, the more happy I am and everything has been going well so far.
PC: You appear to be the guy the UFC will call because they know you don't turn down any fights. Was there any hesitation when you learned the opponent was Brandon Vera?
KS: Not at all actually. About a week and a half ago, they called and offered me Jason Brilz for UFC 103 and we accepted on the spot and then 2 weeks later, Dan Henderson calls me up and tells me that Matt Hamill is injured and they're interested in me fighting against Brandon Vera and we jumped at the chance. This is a huge opportunity for me. It feels like a win-win situation for me. I have everything to gain and nothing to lose in this fight. So we took this fight and it's on the main card at UFC 102. To be on the main card for the second time in 4 fights is a great honor for me and I'm just looking to put on a great show for the fans.
PC: The last time we spoke, you said the caliber of opponent really didn't matter to you, but you weren't in any rush. Brandon Vera is a big step up. Do you feel you're ready for this type of challenge?
KS: You know what? Better now than later. Brandon Vera is working his way up in the UFC and so am I. If this was a fight that they were going to offer me say a year from now, he's going to be a lot better than what he is now, so I might as well fight him now. I feel like I'm hitting my prime right now. I turn 32 next week, everything is working perfectly and I'm on a winning streak and everything is positive. My team, Team Quest, is on a roll right now. I think we've won 14 in a row. It's been a great experience for me the past year and a half, so I just want to keep it going.
PC: You showed great boxing in your last fight when you had space to punch. Are you expecting Vera to try to use his Muay Thai skills to clinch with you and close the distance?
KS: Yeah! This opponent is tough and very well-rounded. I've trained with Brandon Vera myself a couple of years ago, so I know how good he is. It's a tough fight, but we've seen a lot of tape on him, so we know what he's good at and we know his weak spots and we're going to try to exploit those weaknesses.
PC: Do you feel like this will be a full training camp for a guy like Vera? It's not last minute, but it's not an incredible amount of time either.
KS: I will have 5 full weeks of training and then the last week is when we cut the weight. For someone like Brandon Vera, you definitely want a full 12 weeks to prepare for him, but the fact that Dan Henderson just had a fight recently, I was in his camp and training with him everyday. I was running with him and getting his conditioning up where I also kept up with my conditioning, so I feel like I was in decent shape when I started last week. Each week, we're improving and we have some weight training partners in the gym and everything has just been kind of working out so far. So will I be 100% for this fight? Absolutely!
PC: You always look to be in great shape, but it has been awhile since you've been the distance. Vera has never been stopped. Are you prepared to go 3 5-minute rounds with Brandon?
KS: Oh absolutely. I'm always prepared to go the full 15 minutes in a fight. I've had 8 or 9 of my fights go to a decision against some very tough fighters. I've gone the distance with Reese Andy, Mike Whitehead and Dan Christison and those are all guys that have competed in the UFC. I'm definitely comfortable with going the distance and I don't think my conditioning will be a problem in this fight at all.
PC: You're on the main card again with Couture-Nogueira headlining. How honored are you to be a part of this event?
KS: I've worked my butt off for 6 ½ years to get to this stage and it's just a huge honor to be on a card with such big fighters. Nogueira was one of the coaches on the Ultimate Fighter season that I was a part of and Randy Couture, who I trained with for about 6 months awhile back. It's just an awesome card. Nate Marquardt against Demian Maia is going to be a sick fight and I'm looking forward to that one. And then also the "Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine is on the card, so I'm excited about that as well.
PC: Are you training with the normal Team Quest guys or are you going to cross-train elsewhere as well?
KS: No, we're bringing in guys with a lot of good kicks; a lot of good kickboxers. We have about 3 to 4 left-handed fighters in the camp and it's great to have a lot of left-handed fighters like myself to train with. I know Brandon Vera is not left-handed, but he switches a lot and I heard him say he was going to be southpaw on Inside MMA. We're working really well. I have a lot of good training partners, a lot of good wrestlers and strikers so we're getting ready for this fight.
PC: He does switch stances a lot. You don't have to reveal them, but have you guys picked up on some tendencies as far as what he likes to do from an orthodox stance and from his southpaw stance?
KS: Oh absolutely! We kind of know what he likes to do when he switches and when he's right handed. I kind of look at his style like an Andre Gusmao, who was switching a lot on me in my last fight. He likes to use a lot of different angles for his kicks and stuff. The opponent is a little tougher than Andre Gusmao, but it isn't nothing that I haven't seen before.
PC: You trained with Dan for his fight against Bisping at UFC 100. That was one of the greatest one-punch knockouts I've ever seen. What went through your mind to see it end that way?
KS: I don't know if you seen the video, but when Dan throws that right hand right after he throws that inside leg kick, I am the first one in the corner to throw my hands up and go crazy. It was a huge honor for me to be there and witness that knockout. I'm so proud of Dan and he basically put his heart and soul into this training camp. He wanted to completely destroy this kid who was talking shit about him. He just wanted to shut him up and he did. It was a great honor for me to be there in his corner.
PC: How motivated was Dan for that fight considering the amount of talking that Bisping had done?
KS: That was the motivation for the fight. For the first time in I think 6 years, we got Dan Henderson running and doing hill sprints. He has a lot of back problems and stuff like that, so running is not his forte or something that he likes to do, but he made sure he was running for this fight. He was getting in great condition. He didn't even break a sweat in the 1st round. That's how comfortable he felt in between rounds. He wasn't even breathing hard. So we wanted to make sure conditioning wasn't an issue, but it was an easy task for us to get his conditioning going because he was so motivated for this fight.
PC: Good luck my man at 102. Is there anything you want to say in closing?
KS: It's going to be a great fight. Brandon Vera and I are going to put on a great show for the fans and I'm very excited. Krzysztof Soszynski is going to be 4-0 in the UFC after this fight!
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]