Igor Pokrajac made short work of Krzysztof Soszynski, taking just thirty five seconds to knock out “The Polish Experiment”. Coming off a six month layoff, he looked like a man possessed from the second Sosynski came within sight. The determination in his eyes was unmistakeable and his steely demeanor evoked memories of his mentor, the legendary Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic. To hear Pokrajac tell it though, it was just another day at the office.
“I had a lot of problems the past six months with my health. I was very focused, I was very prepared for the fight. I had an easy cut and I did my job.”
Pokrajac’s blitzing fists and Soszynski’s hasty retreat straight back reminded some of the memorable Vitor Belfort KO of Wanderlei Silva at UFC: Ultimate Brazil in 1998. The counter punches that lead to the barrage were something Pokrajac had been practicing and looking to deliver.
“I did what I did in my training. It was something I was working on with my coach. We were looking to do in in the second or third round. I was waiting for that combo from Kryzstof, that left-right. He did it, and I took a chance.”
When asked about Stephan Bonnar, who defeated Pokrajac in his last fight out and went through two wars with Soszynski, Pokrajac seems still bothered by the loss, but insists he doesn’t want a rematch.
“Bonnar didn’t do what the fans expected of him. He knew within a minute that I could knock him out or finish him in the stand-up, so he turned the fight into a grappling match. He stayed with me on the ground, he couldn’t submit me, couldn’t do anything.”
“There’s much better fighters than Bonnar that I would like to fight now.”
Pokrajac has higher goals in mind now, goals that involve making it to the top of the division then settling old scores.
“I want to shoot for the top, and I want to fight any ex-UFC champion. Fighting in Sweden [in April] would be an honour. I could even be ready for [March] in Australia. That’s for UFC to decide, but I want on the main card.”
