Silverbacks’ lightweight fighter, Bart Palaszewski, is busy preparing for celebrations at the time of this interview.

“I’m putting up a tent at my buddy’s house; we have a big party tomorrow night – the night before Thanksgiving. It’s the biggest party night in the US, I guess. And we’re having a big bash,” says Palaszewski.

“I’m actually in Illinois where my family live, just under three hours away from Bettendorf. I usually take a week or two off, depending on how my fight schedule is, and I’m going back to Bettendorf next week.”

Bart’s original gym is at Crystal Lakes, Illinois, and he still does a lot of technical work there with his boxing coach, Dr. Doug Mango. So, despite being away from Team Miletich, Bart is still able to train, and says he picks up the pace about four or five weeks before a fight.

Born in Warsaw, Poland, Palaszewski’s family moved to Wonder Lake, Illinois when Bart was thirteen. Some years later he took up jiu jitsu, which eventually led to his current career in Mixed Martial Arts.

“Jeff ‘Big Frog’ Curran was doing jiu jitsu and Muay Thai at his gym and I was training there for about six months when he had his first MMA show. I never knew Mixed Martial Arts existed, and I went to the show just to support the gym. I fell in love with MMA, and started bugging Jeff to get me a fight. He put a lot of work into making me a fighter. Two and a half years later, he got me a fight, and I haven’t stopped since then.”

With the IFL World Team Championship Finals fast approaching on December 29, Bart will be entering the meet knowing he has been victorious in his last 10 fights. And this well-rounded athlete, who has won an equal number of fights by striking as he has by submission, says he does prefer the toe-to-toe victories to the ground submissions.

“At heart I’m obviously a jiu jitsu guy because that’s where I started, and the gym is known for it’s grappling. But since I picked up a boxing coach, I’ve been doing a lot of boxing and I just fell in love with it. However it depends on where the fight goes: I would rather be on my feet, as I like to make it exciting for the crowd, but if it goes to the ground, I’m not a slouch – I’ll grapple.”

Bart Palaszewski vs. Marcio Feitosa

Bart, can you give a brief rundown of your bout against Ivan Menjivar in Portland please?

“Yes, I wanted to fight Menjivar for a long time – he’s one of the fighters on my list that I wanted to fight, so that came about really well. I knew he was smaller than I am and he’d been fighting at 145 for a while, and was going up and down in weight for the last few years. I believed I could use my size and strength against him, and I knew I was taller than he was, so I could use my reach against him. I wanted to keep the fight on our feet as long as I could.

“He’s known for his grappling, but he hits hard – he’s a strong guy, and has a big right hand. Anyway…

“The first round, I was throwing, and I dropped him a few times. I decided to beat on him some more and stayed on my feet the whole time.

“The second round was pretty much the same thing: I wobbled him a few times and was just banging on him.

“The third round, we slowed down a little bit – obviously a lot of people do; it was a high-paced fight, in my eyes. He got a couple of things on but he couldn’t do anything with them – he took me down but he didn’t do any damage.

“I don’t know how the judges arrived at a split decision; I think I won unanimously. I think I won the first two rounds, and the third one was the closest – if anything, a draw.”

Who are your main training partners at Team Miletich?

“We all train together – 155-pounders, 170-pounders – I do a lot of training with Jens Pulver, Spencer Fisher, Matt Hughes, Rory Markham…all the Miletich guys, pretty much. We all mix it up – different bodies and different styles. I think that’s best to do: If you get used to just one person it becomes a stalemate.”

What are you expecting from Ryan Schultz on December 29th?

“Well, I know he’s a great wrestler and he likes to throw, so hopefully, he’ll stay on his feet with me – that’s ideal and it would make it exciting. I think if I just stay in the pocket…He stands like he’s really wild…so, like I say, if I stay in the pocket I can knock him out.”

Bart Palaszewski vs. Ivan Menjivar

Do you like being at pole position – fighting in the first bout of the team competition?

“Yeah, I love it. I’ve been doing a good job getting it started for everybody, getting it rolling, and I’m like a base hitter, just like in baseball. I get out there and I get on the base; the next guy hits and I get a little farther. In the end, I get to the home plate and we close the deal – we win. I like it: I’m their little snowball; I get it rolling, it gets a little bigger, keeps gathering a little more mass, and by the end Rothwell comes out and finishes it – usually with a big knockout - and we’re just a big snowball that’s unstoppable.”

Can the Silverbacks win all five IFL Championship rings?

“I think so. I think we have a really good chance – a fight is a fight is a fight – you never know what’s going to happen. It takes just one punch to lose a fight, so… But I think we match up pretty well with everybody, and I think we can win all five fights: That’s always the plan – to win all five fights. That’s how we train, and that’s the mindset we have to go in: one hundred percent always.”

Who are you tipping out of Carlos Newton and Renzo Gracie?

“I think I have to go with Carlos… He’s a great jiu jitsu guy, very explosive, very strong… I’m not going to take anything away from Renzo Gracie – he’s very strong as well, a great jiu jitsu player. But I have to go with Carlos: I think he’s more experienced too.”

Bart, is there anything you’d like to add?

“Yes, I’d like to thank all my training partners; my coaches: Dr. Mango, Jeff Curran, Pat Miletich; and all the fans: for their support and for the way the sport has grown.”

Your sponsors?

“No sponsors at the moment, but I am interested.”

Palaszewski vs. Menjivar in Portland, Oregon