After struggling to get fights, BAMMA's Marcin Lazarz represents Polish progress

Despite his undefeated record, Polish light-heavyweight prospect Marcin Lazarz (5-0) knows he and his countrymen don’t necessarily get the respect they deserve as legitimate mixed martial artists. But through his own success and that of others, he’s hoping to see that change.

“I think the level is pretty tough and pretty decent in Poland,” Lazarz told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). Promotion-wise, it’s still not as good as the U.K. It’s not watched as much, … but the level in Poland is pretty tough.”

Lazarz’s journey to MMA started some 10 years ago in his native land, where he quickly developed a passion for the grappling arts. Add in a does of amateur striking competition here and there, and it was obvious Lazarz was meant to compete in MMA.

“I started like 10 years ago,” Lazarz explained. “I started from wrestling and jiu-jitsu, pretty much. I spent most of the time on jiu-jitsu, and then I fell in love with submission wrestling. I was following that for quite some time, and then MMA was just the next step for me.

“It was pretty natural for me to get involved with MMA. I’d done a little bit of boxing before. I like striking, as well. So MMA was the next step for me.”

But turning pro wasn’t nearly as easy as Lazarz had imagined. He relocated to the U.K. and sought out better training options. But as he continued to develop his reputation on the regional grappling scene, he found it difficult to find opponents willing to step in the cage with him.

“For some reason as soon as I got to the U.K., I couldn’t get going,” Lazarz said. “I was competing in submission wrestling, and I was doing quite well. I kept on doing that, and trying to get an MMA fight wasn’t so easy with no record at all at the moment. People didn’t want to fight me because of my grappling background. That made it hard to get opponents. But somehow we started.

“We got on a few shows, and that’s how it starts. We started quite late, but I don’t mind. We’re doing quite well at the moment, and we’ll keep on going.”

Quite well, indeed. Lazarz is undefeated through his first five professional fights, a run that includes two first-round submission wins. He returns to action at Saturday’s “BAMMA 12: Wallhead vs. Veach” event, which takes place at Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, and airs in North America on AXS TV.

He faces another undefeated prospect, Sweden’s Max Nunes (9-0), on the evening’s main card. Nunes has found success early in his career, as well, scoring nine stoppage wins to open his career, including eight in the very first round.

Still, Lazarz is confident in his own abilities.

“He looks alright,” Lazarz said. “He can move around, but I don’t see any kind of background in his style. I think he’s an MMA fighter. He might be a jiu-jitsu guy, but it doesn’t mean anything. But he’s not a proper wrestler. He could be a kickboxing guy and jiu-jitsu, but I don’t rate his jiu-jitsu that high. Whatever is going to happen in that fight, I’m ready to take. He’s confident, and I reckon it’s going to be a really interesting fight. What can I say? I’m pretty confident, as well. I’m going to stop him.

“I don’t care about his record. It doesn’t mean anything. He’s good? That’s good. That’s a good opponent for me, and I’m ready to take him out.”

And in the process, Lazarz hopes to not only further his own career but also prove that his country is capable of producing to talent. While a handful of Polish fighters have made a name on the international scene, Lazarz believes there’s room for many more.

“Whatever Polish fighter you get, it’s a tough fight,” Lazarz. “I haven’t seen a fight with a Polish professional MMA fighter which wasn’t a tough fight. We are naturally tough people, and I think there’s a good future in Polish MMA.”

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