411Mania Exclusive Interview with Bart Palaszewski!
Posted by Lotfi Sariahmed on 08.29.2007
The IFL Finals are less than a month away! Mark your calendars for September 20th! The Quad Cities Silverbacks will take on the New York Pitbulls for the rings! And because no one does the IFL like 411Mania, we have an exclusive interview with the man called "Bartimus!" 411Mania's Lotfi Sariahmed talked to the star lightweight about everything from finals bout to his rematch with Horodecki to teaching MMA to the blind! All that and more in this exclusive interview!
The IFL's lightweight division is its deepest and most talented. When you talk about the top fighters in that division Quad Cities Silverback Bart Palaszewski is at or near the top of that list. "Bartimus" is preparing for the IFL Finals on September 20th and the Grand Prix on November 3rd. He took some time to talk to 411Mania about his fights coming up and his career.
Now it's to a point where my parents call me "Bartimus."
411Mania.com: So here's an easy one to start off. Where did the nickname "Bartimus" come from?
Palaszewski: I was about 18 years old and I fought in Peoria. I was supposed to fight a guy in my weight class and he didn't show. There was this other guy who didn't have an opponent either but he was at 185. So we both didn't have a match so we figured why the hell not fight? I lost a decision but it was a hell of a fight. Literally a month later I went to the Xtreme Challenge Trials and one of the guys (at the show) just goes, "Hey little Gladiator what's going on?" He saw my fight and I guess he was one of the promoters for the trials. I told the story to Jeff Curran who was and still is my instructor and he just thought of it. "Bartimus" came from the Little Gladiator. Now it's to a point where my parents call me "Bartimus."
411Mania.com: I was doing some research preparing for this interview when I came across some interesting information. It seems like everybody who is fighting in MMA is also teaching in some form. But you took it a step further. You were teaching jiu-jitsu to a 12-year-old blind girl. How did you get into that?
Palaszewski: Ever since I got into the IFL I haven't had time to teach her since I moved to Iowa for a year and a half. I taught her for about a year and a half. I was bouncing at a local bar and her mom was actually a bartender there. We were just talking and she said she had a blind girl who was into gymnastics and stuff like that. We were talking and she said she wanted to do something else. So I started teaching her jiu-jitsu. It would be kind of hard to teach her boxing. I didn't even attempt to do that. But she was actually pretty good. We stayed in contact but it's been so hectic. I'm in Iowa most of the week then on weekends I just want to chill out and spend time with my family.
411Mania.com: How did you end up joining the Silverbacks in the IFL because you don't train with the Miletich guys. Earlier you said you're training with Jeff Curran right?
Palaszewski: Yeah. The idea came up actually from Monty Cox (his manager). It was a while back and he mentioned something about a team concept and I was like, "All right, that's retarded." I was totally against it. He told me it was going to be decent, steady money and I was just like, "Yeah, whatever dude." Well some time went by and he said Pat was looking for a lightweight. I was skeptical about it but I was like, "what the hell" and I gave it a shot. So we went out to Iowa and Pat wanted to see me train real badly. It was the worst workout ever. It was literally two days after New Year's Eve. It was a rough one. We stayed out there for two or three days and Pat just told me he was going to email me with an answer a yes or a no. He emailed me and he said yes. After that I moved down there for about a year, year and a half. But I have a little one that just came about three weeks ago. I can't leave my girl alone for one and I don't want to be away from my baby.
…Pat wanted to see me train real badly. It was the worst workout ever
411Mania.com: Congratulations on the new girl.
Palaszewski:Thank you.
411Mania.com: What are some of the big differences between training under Curran compared to having Miletich as your coach.
Palaszewski: There's just a lot more bodies there (with Miletich). They're both great fighters but its two different worlds really. Pat is really straightforward. You hit me I'm going to hit you twice. Just really a tough guy. Jeff is more laid back, more of a jiu-jitsu guy. He's still a tough kid its just he's a "you hit me I'm going to take you down and submit kind of fighter." There are some little differences in approaching the fights. Obviously you have tons of good people over there. There were tons of guys in my weight class over there it was great for me. We don't have as many guys in my weight class that fight.
411Mania.com: Both you and Ben Rothwell have been very successful with the Silverbacks. Do you guys consider yourselves leaders?
Palaszewski: Absolutely not. Far from it. I haven't missed any fights. I've been blessed enough where I haven't had any major injuries like some other guys. But definitely not a leader. Pat's the leader. He's the man. We're like a family. We're like brothers and sisters. You always fight and argue but at the end of the day we're all happy when the other person wins. It's all good.
411Mania.com: Lets get into your last fight against Harris Sarmiento. He was a late replacement for Adam DiSabato who was replacing Chris Horodecki. How did the revolving door of lightweights effect you in this fight because while you did win, Sarmiento did give you some trouble.
Bart Palaszewski: Sarmiento is a very tough guy. He's got quite a bit of fights. He's fought some good names and stuff but it stinks. He took the fight on two weeks notice but so did I really. I was training but I wasn't training for the type of fighter he was. I told people before I don't really watch footage on people but I do find out more or less if he's a grappler, a counter-puncher or a wrestler or whatever. I find out about him I just don't watch film on him. It's just too much of a pain in the ass to call people and try and get film. I'm just too lazy I guess. It stinks but I'm just like whatever. Whoever they're going to put in front of me I'm going to fight. But it is hard. You're spending 4, 5, or 6 weeks preparing for one kind of fight. Then they switch it. Then two weeks later they switch it again. My training doesn't really get personalized for each fighter but it does get changed. It shifts a little bit. Overall though workouts don't change.
411Mania.com: As a team the Silverbacks just made it into the playoffs as the #4 seed. It's been a different year for your team compared to last year where you basically steamrolled everyone. But you're in the finals nonetheless. I've talked to Pat (Miletich) before about that and he said he just thought you guys were tired to start the season. What do you think the difference is between the team at the start of the season and the one headed to the finals on the 20th?
Palaszewski: I think the attitude is changed. Pat was right we are tired. We were going non-stop for a year and a half. The teams that lose get a break. We haven't had a break since the beginning of the IFL. Then when we lost to the Anacondas we didn't really get a break either because that was the regular season. We went right into another fight, then another, then the semis and now the finals. It's pretty much non-stop for us since the beginning. Other teams had breaks and time to train and recoup. We've just been going non-stop. We took a loss and that was a big part of it.
…sometimes it's a 10-second fight and you get a broken hand."
411Mania.com: How do you as a fighter deal with that tough schedule? You're fighting a few times within a matter of months. How do you prepare for that?
Palaszewski: There's no way you can really prepare for that. You just go and train as hard as you can. Then you go in there and do your best not to get injured. But you know sometimes you just do. Sometimes the whole team suffers because of it but that's the beauty of the sport I guess. There's many ways of getting injured. So we prepare hard and we go in there to finish it quickly. But sometimes it's a 10-second fight and you get a broken hand. You can't really prepare for that. You just have to go in and fight like you don't have to fight for a couple of months. After the fight you see what's broken and bruised and go from there.
411Mania.com: You touched on the loss to the Anacondas earlier. Your team lost the bout and you lost a controversial bout to Chris Horodecki. How did you deal with not only the first team loss but your first individual loss in the IFL?
Palaszewski: Well the team lost because of my loss. We went (down) 3-2 that day. I packed up my stuff the next two days then I went on vacation for two weeks. So I was all right with it. I didn't get my ass handed to me. Some people from that team see it that way, I don't know how. But shame on me for not finishing the fight. I can't blame anyone but me. I should have gone through the ropes with Chris. I have no grudge or bad blood against him. It's just a fight that I lost and I get a rematch. I'm happy about it but it's like I hate him or anything. It's just the way the IFL works out. I'm getting my rematch in the Grand Prix and we're going to put on a hell of a fight and see what happens then.
411Mania.com: All right, lets get into the finals coming up on the 20th. We talked about how this was a different season for your team coming in as the #4 seed. But now you're headed to the finals taking on the Pitbulls and a lot of people think you're the favorites. Does that place any pressure on you or is this just another fight?
Palaszewski: It's just another fight. I don't know. I'm not thinking about it. Hopefully my opponent doesn't change at the last moment. Hopefully everyone is healthy and hopefully we come out victorious that night. I mean that's all you can hope for is putting on a good show for the fans and for the victory.
I'm going to bombard him with punches.
411Mania.com: On the 20th you'll be taking on Deividas Taurosevicius. He beat up Savant Young in the semis in a bit of an upset. What do you take from his bout with Young into your bout with him in the finals?
Palaszewski: Little bit. I watched the fight. I wasn't really concentrating on it. I mean I saw it. The one thing I noticed is that he doesn't like to get hit for one and for two I'm not going to bring the same pace as Savant. I'm going to be non-stop. Savant kind of died out after the first round. Loading up those big right hands take a lot out of you I guess. But I'm going to be non-stop and if he gets tired like he did with Savant it's going to be over. I'm not going to throw three or four punches in a row like Savant did. I'm not going to go for the kill every time. I'm going to bombard him with punches. You never know, I might even take him down. Mix it up a bit.
411Mania.com: The fight's coming up on the 20th but a few weeks after that comes the Grand Prix. Obviously you'd like to avenge your loss to Horodecki and you'll get that chance November 3rd. Is that rematch something that you're thinking about yet or are you just focusing strictly on Taurosevicius for now?
Palaszewski: Well it's scheduled so it's on my mind. I'm using that and trying to figure out my training schedule. We're fighting on Thursday night (the finals on the 20th). I'm flying back on Friday, we have the weekend off and then I'm back in the gym on Monday. Hopefully I don't get injured obviously but I'm not taking my week off like I usually do. I'm back in the gym on Monday busting my ass. That's what I got to do. It's such a tight schedule that I'll get a breather after the November fight.
411Mania.com: Looking up and down the rest of the team bouts you're missing Rory Markham at welterweight and Jake Ellenberger has stepped in to replace him. What can you tell us about Ellenberger and what he'll bring to the table against Delson Heleno?
Palaszewski: I have no idea. Never met the guy so I couldn't tell you.
411Mania.com: Fair enough. So we'll make the smooth transition to the next question. There's no doubt you're one of the best lightweights in the IFL. But have you thought about possibly going to the UFC once your contract is up and continue to test your skills?
Palaszewski: Yeah. I'm not going to lie, I have. But I'm not in a rush. I'm still a young fighter. I mean I've had like 40 fights but I started when I was 18. I have a lot of fights but a lot of them weren't any big names. It was just pumping fight after fight out because I just wanted to fight. Now the IFL competition is a bit tougher and the pay is going up and stuff. Hopefully it keeps going up so I don't have to fight 10 times a year. But like I said I'm not in a rush or anything. If it happens it happens and if not I'm going to stay with the IFL or whoever else wants to take me. Right now I'm kind of fight-to-fight really. When the contract is up I'll worry about it then. Right now I've thought about it. I've matched myself up with guys from the UFC in my head.
411Mania.com: You talked about matching yourself up with some UFC fighters in your head. How do you think you'd do against B.J. Penn?
Palaszewski: I don't know. He's a phenomenal fighter but you never know. It just takes one punch but he's a freak.
411Mania.com: I can't let you leave without giving me predictions for your bout against Taurosevicius.
Palaszewski: O man. I hate making predictions. I don't want to be that guy that says I shouldn't have made that prediction. I don't want to stick my foot in my mouth. It's going to be a good fight I hope. I'm going to try and put on a show for sure. I'm never a guy that puts on a boring fight.
411Mania.com:Are the Silverbacks going to walk away champs again Bart?
Palaszewski: I think so. I think we're going to walk away with another ring.
411Mania.com: Before we wrap up here are there any sponsors you want to thank?
Palaszewski: I want to thank all my coaches. Jeff Curran, Pat Miletich, all my training partners. I'd like to thank Tapout…they're my boys.
411Mania.com: Congratulations once again on the newborn and thanks for the time Bart.
