Bart Palaszewski Talks Facing Hatsu Hioki This Sat., Says Win Puts Him In Title Hunt

UFC featherweight Bart Palaszewski realizes the opportunity that is front of him this weekend. As he prepares to face Hatsu Hioki, a fighter many feel is the number two featherweight in the world, "Bartimus" must contend with his opponent's skill set as well as fighting in front of a hostile Japanese crowd. While the Japanese fans aren't as raucous as their North American counterparts they will no doubt be rooting for their countrymen.

Success against Hioki could put Palaszewski a win or two away from a shot at UFC gold. After years toiling in the Midwestern MMA scene before joining the WEC back in December of 2008, the Team Curran Jiu-Jitsu Blackbelt has finally made it to the big show. He certainly did not disappoint in his featherweight debut as he knocked out Tyson Griffin the first round of their UFC 137 bout to earn Knockout of the Night honors.

This will be Palaszewski's second trip to Japan as he defeated Masayuki Okude via first round knockout at ZST 6 in September of 2004. The bout will be the 51st of a career that started over ten years ago in Hammond, Indiana. A lot has happened in the decade since; he's had some tough losses coupled with some big wins. Nothing will compare to the experience he had against an overweight Griffin or will compare should he defeat Hioki.

"Knocking Griffin out was certainly a nice intro to the UFC," said Palaszewski excitedly to FightLine.com. "I have a lot of knockouts on my record so it was something I knew I could do. I'm known for my knockouts, but it's not what I went out there to do, but I have to admit it felt awesome. The UFC is where everywhere wants to be and it's always been my ultimate goal."

With a more than a twelve-hour long flight ahead, most fighters would be worried about getting acclimated to the time change but not Palaszewski. He actually considers it an advantage and is going about his training as if he were fighting here in the states. He will rely on his coaches to prepare a gameplan and let his fists do the talking.

"If you think about it Hioki is the one who is going to have to deal with the time change," offered Palaszewski. "We are fighting on US Time when we get there so for me there really is nothing to prepare for other than the fight itself. I'm going to stay on the US clock so it'll be 7:00 PM for me and about 9:00 AM for him. He gets to fight first thing in the morning so he'll have some breakfast and then a punch in the face from me!"

Hioki is well known for his grappling and, while both men are Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelts, it's Hioki who will have an advantage when and if the fight hits the floor. He has amassed wins over some very good fighters including Marlon Sandro, Lion Takeshi, Mark Hominick and Jeff Curran. However, Palaszewski has better striking and has said he will try to do something that has never been done before - knock Hioki out.

"I would say my stand-up is where I hold the advantage," said Bartimus. "Then again I feel that I hold the advantage in that area over most of the fighters in my weight class. His wrestling focuses more on the upper body and I've been working really hard in that area so I'm really not worried about it. I am actually looking forward to testing my wrestling and we are both BJJ blackbelts so it's hard to say he has the advantage there, but I'm going to do my best to keep the fight standing."

The list of viable contenders for Jose Aldo's UFC Featherweight Championship is a short one. Hioki has to be considered next in line should he win on Saturday night, but after that it's up in the air. Dustin Poirier is set to face Chan Sung Jung in May, but neither fighter is ready to face Aldo. Where does Palaszewski see himself as far as the contenders are concerned?