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| Name: |  Michal Materla |
| Nickname: | Cipao |
| Age: | 27 |
| Height: | 6'0" |
| Location: |
Szczecin, Poland |
When we think of talent-rich regions throughout the world, Central Europe is lucky if it even gets a mention. Among hardcore fans, it gets a little more respect, but it's difficult to look past problems like public outcry against the sport and a lack of world-class trainers. Surprisingly, despite the hurdles, there are fighters from the region who have defied the odds. Look no further than Germany's Dennis Siver as the perfect example.
Polish mixed martial artist Michal Materla (16-3) hopes to become another name we mention alongside Siver. The 27-year-old has recorded sixteen wins since debuting in 2003, capping off a four-fight win streak in November against Matt Horwich at KSW 17. His only blemish in five years came against UFC vet Antonio Mendes at KSW 7, narrowly losing via split decision. Unfortunately, losing hasn't been the worst of it for Materla.
Constant injuries have left Materla with a tattered resume. After the loss to Mendes, Materla was sidelined for nearly two years, returning in February of '09 to submit Bohumil Lungrik in two minutes and twenty seconds. Two years after the win, Materla entered the ring again, beating Gregory Babene by guillotine choke at KSW 15. Within the span of four years, Materla only had two fights.
When Materla is inside the ring, he can be a dominant force, employing an aggressive wrestling-centric style of fighting that relies on takedowns and control from the top. He's also competent off his back, executing good defensive tactics to avoid damage and reverse positions. He is particularly adept at securing the guillotine choke in the scramble.
On the feet, Materla isn't the most polished striker. His aggression tends to create brawling exchanges, and it's clear that he'd rather bring the fight to the ground than risk being out struck by more technical punchers. He'll need to fine tune those skills in order to threaten tougher competition in other areas, otherwise he'll be a sitting duck against better wrestlers who can strike.
Despite those flaws, Materla is a promising prospect from a region that doesn't produce a lot of top-tier talent in general. Last year's hot prospect, Jan Blachowicz, was derailed by UFC veteran Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou in March, which undoubtedly hurt his chances of getting a contract with Bellator or the UFC. Can Materla get that opportunity and succeed? We should find out in 2012.
Check out video footage of Michal Materla after the jump...
| Flyweight | Bantamweight | Featherweight | Lightweight |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 - #2 - #3 - #4 - #5 - #6 - #7 - #8 - #9 - #10 - |
#1 - Rony Mariano #2 - Aljamain Sterling #3 - Chris Holdsworth #4 - Josh Hill #5 - Fabiano Fernandes #6 - Claudio Ledesma #7 - Sirwan Kakai #8 - Kyoji Horiguchi #9 - Leandro Hygo #10 - Pedro Munhoz |
#1 - Hacran Dias #2 - Joey Gambino #3 - Brandon Bender #4 - Lance Palmer #5 - Jim Alers #6 - Anthony Gutierrez #7 - Max Holloway #8 - John Teixeira #9 - Cody Bollinger #10 - Bubba Jenkins |
#1 - Fabricio Guerreiro #2 - Alessandro Ferreira #3 - Adriano Martins #4 - Justin Salas #5 - Neilson Gomes #6 - Eduard Folayang #7 - Zorobabel Moreira #8 - Anton Kuivanen #9 - Jordan Rinaldi #10 - J.P. Vainikainen |
| Welterweight | Middleweight | Light Heavyweight | Heavyweight |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 - Andrey Koreshkov #2 - Dhiego Lima #3 - Brandon Thatch #4 - Nordine Taleb #5 - Hernani Perpetuo #6 - Brock Jardine #7 - Alan Jouban #8 - Mohsen Bahari #9 - Andre Santos #10 - Stephen Thompson |
#1 - #2 - #3 - #4 - #5 - #6 - Michal Materla #7 - Elvis Mutapcic #8 - Tor Troeng #9 - Jack Hermansson #10 - Tim Ruberg |
#1 - #2 - #3 - #4 - #5 - #6 - #7 - #8 - #9 - #10 - |
#1 - #2 - #3 - #4 - #5 - #6 - #7 - #8 - #9 - #10 - |
Michal Materla vs. Matt Horwich
Michal Materla vs. James Zikic
Michal Materla vs. Gregory Babene
Michal Materla vs. Bohumil Lungrik
Michal Materla vs. Antonio Mendes
1 recs | 19 comments
Sweet tats!
Bro
jaybot - January 11, 2012
Reminds me
Of Miguel Cotto
spider webb - January 11, 2012 via mobile
lmao
A Polish wrestler.
What’s next, a Russian M-1 BJJ guy?
4 out of the 5 fighters have been European, and all four of them I’d favour even a guy like Clifford Starks over…….interesting that.
DJTLC - January 11, 2012
Jesus.
You are one of the biggest morons to ever comment in these threads. I thought some of the criticism we got from others was warranted, but everything you’ve laid out over multiple posts should probably warrant a ban.
Zero input worth a shit on top of no counter points or any semblance of a suggestion other than “Ruberg > everyone”. We get it. You LOVE America. Talk about the creme of the crop in terms of commenters. You offer zero benefit to the community, and to top it… you’re assessments are incredibly bad.
You’re banned.
Leland Roling - January 11, 2012
Surprised he lasted this long
Clearly trolling
Stiff Jab - January 12, 2012
Poland has won significantly more medals in wrestling at the Olympics than USA
Venom77 - January 12, 2012
meant Greco obviously
Venom77 - January 12, 2012
"On the feet, Materla isn't the most polished striker."
I see what you did there.
Ricardo Arguello - January 11, 2012
Was about to comment on that :).
Matthi - January 12, 2012
Wrestling
Materla’s wrestling is clearly good enough to be a Czech national wrestling champ.
DJTLC - January 11, 2012
My Cousin Mathias Schuck actually used to train with Materla&Blachowicz in Stettin.
He said a lot of good things about Materla’s grapling
KOQ24 - January 11, 2012
I can't tell if you're serious
or not. But I really hope you are.
Having someone on here who actually knows Polish wrestlers or MMA guys would be awesome.
Ben Thapa - January 12, 2012
Materla looked pretty good against Horwich. That was somewhat of a questionable decision from what I remember, but he looked good against a tricky fighter like Matt. Here’s hoping that Materla gets on the Feb KSW card.
exzacht - January 11, 2012 via mobile
There was nothing questionable about that decision. Materla clearly won rounds 2 & 3.
Venom77 - January 12, 2012
A loss to Antonio Mendes is a pretty bad thing to have on a record. Granted it was close to nine years ago, but still. I’m pretty much spit balling as I haven’t seen the fight, but it’d be hard for me to see a guy with a loss like that going anywhere significant.
Sam Cupitt - January 11, 2012
Mendes was a bigger guy, the decision was quite controversial and Materla has made an enourmous progress since than.
Venom77 - January 12, 2012
Well that’ll aboot do it to put me in my place.
Sam Cupitt - January 12, 2012
That’s really all that needs to be said. He’s had NINE years to improve.
Leland Roling - January 12, 2012
Love these posts!
This is one of my favorite features on BE and I really appreciate getting to hear about international prospects.
Skyscraperfan - January 12, 2012
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