There are a lot of tough guys in the UFC. Just walking up the four steps into the Octagon on fight night guarantees that. But what happens after giving your best you still fall short of victory? What you do after that loss may be what truly defines toughness.
Take Polish light heavyweight Tomasz Drwal for example. Making his UFC debut against unbeaten Thiago Silva at UFC 75 in September of 2007, Drwal fought well in the first round and looked to be on his way to extending his winning streak to 13. But by the time the bell rang for round two, Drwal had emptied his gas tank, and while Silva was fatigued as well, he had a little bit more left and he stopped the Krakow native in the second frame.
“Well, I am not going to make any excuses,” Drwal told UFC.com through translator / manager Ania Marianska. “I lost that fight fair and square. My endurance and conditioning were lacking, pure and simple.”
Previous to the Silva fight, whatever Drwal decided to do in the gym as far as preparation was always enough, and after a 2004 submission loss to Ulf Fritzmann in his second pro fight, he had won 12 in a row while only being forced into the second round once. So, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. But now, with an 0-1 slate in the UFC, Drwal needed some fixing. He got it when he signed up with a new management and training team.
“In a turn of good fortune I was scouted by DNA Sports, Inc., and as my new career management solution, now I understand what a top notch management company does for their athletes in terms of one hundred percent support and preparation for UFC level competition. This is what I really needed, a good reality check to teach me I needed to focus on attracting the support I needed for my fighting career, and this is exactly what happened.”
Sounds simple enough, but while a change in management and training team can be a fairly cut and dried solution for fighters based here in the States, for Drwal, it meant leaving home for San Diego, California. And while he admits that before the switch he wouldn’t have thought the change in teams wasn’t going to make much of a difference, now he knows that it was the best move he could have possibly made for his career.
“When my new management introduced me to my two hand picked Navy Seal trainers (Sarge and Jocko) in the USA, I had an epiphany,” said Drwal. “Now I understand what high intensity training really is all about. My eyes have been opened to the intense preparation and focus required to compete successfully at the UFC level in the sport of MMA.”
Now all the 26-year old needed was a fight, but his body just wasn’t cooperating. A UFC 81 bout with David Heath was scratched due to a knee injury, as was a UFC 87 matchup with Andre Gusmao.
“Injury is just part of my sport, it comes with the territory,” said Drwal. “I am a career fighter, so it's always tough to be out of action, but I have matured a lot over the past year in many ways, and now I deal with any setback pretty well.”
He did miss the game during his 16 months off though.
“I missed doing what I was born to do, which is fight in professional MMA competition. I love the roar of a big audience and the pure adrenalin rush of victory.”
His prayers will be answered on Saturday night, when, healthy and ready to go, he travels to the O2 Dublin for a UFC 93 bout against Italian newcomer Ivan Serati. Serati enters the Octagon as a virtual unknown to stateside fans, much like Drwal did against Silva. Both are also hard-nosed battlers who aren’t afraid of getting into a scrap. Does Drwal see any other similarities between his debut and Serati’s?
“My UFC debut was definitely more challenging mentally than I expected,” he said. “I was not nervous, but the mental tension of being in the UFC Octagon my first time was more than I expected. Mr. Serati will naturally be affected by the atmosphere in very his first UFC fight; this is a given.”
Needless to say, being in the Octagon for the second time, coupled with his new team, has given Drwal the confidence that he will be victorious this time around.
“I really don't see Mr. Serati as posing any particular difficulty for me in this match as I am prepared for any worthy opponent in my weight class,” said the “Gorilla”, who needs to be on top of his game not only this weekend, but every night if he is to compete in one of the most talent-rich divisions in the sport.
“I am confident I can hold my own in this division,” he said. “The fact it is the toughest division in the sport keeps me motivated to become the very best I can possibly be in order to be a future champion.”
In fact, Drwal already has his sights on the new man at the top of the 205-pound weight class, Rashad Evans.
“What can I say, he has the full package - speed, strength, and skill,” said Drwal of Evans, who won the UFC light heavy crown by beating Forrest Griffin last month. “I only pray I can have the opportunity to fight such a strong opponent for the UFC in the future. I know I could defeat Mr. Evans with a little as six more months of training from today if I were blessed with such an opportunity.”
And while Drwal isn’t in any rush – his goal is clear: join cruiserweight boxing champion Tomasz Adamek in bringing a world title back home to Poland.
“For Poland to win a world championship in MMA would be huge,” said Drwal. “The sport of MMA would be officially on the map in Poland with a UFC championship belt, that's for sure.”
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