Windy City Bragging Rights at Stake For Palaszewski-Lamas Clash

By Frank Curreri

Bart Palaszewski has fought in Texas before, he just doesn’t recall which city.

“It was the southern part,” Palaszewski said after scanning his brain for a few seconds in vain. “I know because after the fight we had too many beers and me and (Jeff) Curran almost went to Mexico.”

The scrappy Chicagoan is headed to America’s second most populous state yet again this time to Corpus Christi – and is banking on a more memorable experience this time around.

Palaszewski’s master plan for the past few months had been this: Beat Rich Crunkilton in convincing fashion and be rewarded with a title shot against WEC lightweight kingpin Jamie Varner. But since life is often unfair and full of surprises, Palaszewski’s smooth road to championship glory was ravaged with potholes when a violent twist recently injured one of Crunkilton’s knees and forced him off the WEC 39 card. Now Palaszewski and his trainers are scrambling on short notice to create another strategy for Crunkilton’s replacement, unbeaten Ricardo Lamas (5-0). Palaszewski isn’t exactly jumping for joy about having a new opponent five days before his fight. Against Crunkilton, he had relished the role of potential spoiler. Now he must keep from becoming the spoilee, so to speak.

“That kind of sucks, he doesn’t have the exposure in the WEC that Rich did,” Palaszewski said on Tuesday, four hours after hearing the news. “So I don’t know if I’ll have to have another fight in the WEC before I get a shot at Jamie. It’s almost like a lose-lose situation. It’s like when I fought Ivan Menjivar. If he would have beaten me then people would have been like, ‘Oh that guy got beat by a 145 pounder. When I won the fight it was like, ‘Oh Bart beat a 45 pounder (laughs).’ So this kid is 5 and 0 and he’s a solid fighter but he doesn’t have the exposure, he doesn’t have the experience that I do. If he goes the distance it will be like, ‘Oh he went the distance with Bart for three rounds.’ But if he beats me I’m kind of screwed. So I have a lot more to lose than to gain from this fight.”

Palaszewski (30-11) is no stranger to having curve balls hurled at him days before a bout, estimating he’s either fought replacements or had opponents back out roughly 15 times in his career. Rather interestingly, Palaszewski points out that he has never backed out of a fight, even on one occasion stepping into the cage with a broken hand.

Lamas isn’t offended by Palaszewski’s candid remarks, nor the fact that Palaszewski repeatedly referred to him as “this kid” – even though, technically speaking, Palaszewski

is a year younger than the 26-year-old Lamas.

“I can definitely see where he’s coming from,” said Lamas, a former Division III All-American wrestler who also lives and trains in the Chicago area. “I’m the newcomer. I know that Bart has been wishing for a title shot and all of that, but I had to take this opportunity because you never know when you’ll have another one in this sport. I think when you’re an up and coming fighter if these big shows offer you a chance to showcase your talents you have to jump at it because there are so many guys out there that will do it. I’m just trying to get my foot in the door and this seems like a great way to do it.”

In Crunkilton, Palaszewski likely would have had a considerable advantage if he kept the fight standing. Based on Crunkilton’s history in the cage, he is considered a bit more one-dimensional than Lamas, a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu who also has amateur boxing experience and doesn’t mind settling things on his feet. Few people outside of the Chicago area have ever heard of Lamas, who trains with Top Notch MMA and counts former UFC fighter Gideon Ray as his most accomplished sparring partner. Yet some who have seen Lamas fight and train rave about his work ethic, determination and potential. Nicknamed “The Bully” (a moniker that also applies, coincidentally, to UFC fighter Gray Maynard), Lamas’ style more closely resembles that of Clay Guida, who is known for his high-energy, non-stop grinding style.

While those who take fights on short notice are often at a disadvantage, Lamas doesn’t believe that will be the case come Sunday.

“My last fight was in November and after that fight I didn’t take any break, I just went right back to the gym and I’ve been working out ever since so my cardio is good,” he said. “Obviously I would have liked more time to prepare for the fight but I’m satisfied with where I’m at now. You could always be in better shape but I don’t think cardio will play too much of a factor in the fight.”

Palaszewski, a consummate professional, has repeatedly adapted and thrived while navigating the unexpected inside of the cage. He may have to rediscover that improvisation when he and Lamas clash in Texas.

“We have one of his fights on tape but I’m not big at looking at fights on film,” Palaszewski said of Lamas. “This kid, he’s a newer guy and these days everybody is so well-rounded. I’m obviously not worried about his grappling. I have a solid jiu-jitsu game and I’m definitely not worried about his standup. Wrestling is the only thing he might give me a hard time with, but I’ve been really busting my a-- on my wrestling. We’ll see.”