Broken hand forces Pettis out of WEC 40 bout with Njokuani, Palaszewski in

[steph05050]

http://mmajunkie.com/dyn/images/fighters/bart-palaszewski.jpg

A broken hand suffered in a recent training session has forced Anthony Pettis (6-0) out of his WEC 40 bout with Anthony Njokuani (9-2), a source close to the fighter today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com)

In his place steps IFL and WEC veteran Bart Palaszewski (30-12), who takes the bout on just 10 days' notice.

WEC 40 takes place April 5 at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. Although the night's main card airs on Versus, the Njokuani vs. Palaszewski bout is slated for the un-aired preliminary card.

Pettis, a veteran of the Wisconsin-based Gladiators Cage Fighting organization, was going to make his WEC debut at the event. He is now expected to be out four to six weeks with the injury, though the timeframe is just an early estimate from an initial medical examination.

In his place steps Palaszewski, once of the biggest stars in the now-defunct IFL organization. However, Palaszewski has struggled as of late with four losses in his past six fights. The most recent came at WEC 39, where he suffered a unanimous-decision loss to Ricardo Lamas.

He'll look to get back in the win column against Njokuani, a Nigerian-born Muay Thai champion who suffered a submission loss to Benson Henderson at WEC 38. It was Njokuani's WEC debut after appearances for organizations such as Art of War and Ultimate Texas Showdown.


Source (http://mmajunkie.com/news/14367/broken-hand-forces-pettis-out-of-wec-40-bout-with-njokuani-palaszewski-in.mma)

[Brad.Taschuk]

I think this actually makes this fight better. I think Bart will probably be able to sub Njoku, unless he thinks it's a good idea to try to strike in this fight, which he has a tendency to do.

[Wise]

Bart really needs this win after losing to a guy who stepped in a on a weeks notice.

[JT42]

I agree that I think this fight just got better. Hopefully Bart can pull out a win here

[steph05050]

http://mmajunkie.com/dyn/images/fighters/bart-palaszewski-2.jpg

If WEC lightweight Bart Palaszewski (30-12) is at all nervous about accepting an April 5 bout at WEC 40 with Anthony Njokuani (9-2) on just 10-days' notice, he hides it well when answering the phone.

"What's up?" Palaszewski asked when contacted by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "I'm just out having a couple of beers.

"Fight? That's what I was going to ask you about. What fight?"

Palaszewski couldn't keep the charade up for long, but the joy in his voice to be back in the cage just a month after a disappointing unanimous-decision loss to Ricardo Lamas at WEC 39 was evident.

"I didn't have the best showing my last fight, and I trained so darn hard for it that I want to get right back in to it," Palaszewski said. "[WEC officials] were talking about maybe May or June, and I just didn't want to sit that long. So the opportunity came knocking, and I went after it."

Palaszewski was riding a two fight win streak before his March 1 loss. The sting of a poor performance, a smothering opponent, and an overly patient referee has been hounding "Bartimus" since the defeat.

"The one thing I would love to change in that fight (with Lamas) is the referee," Palaszewski said. "There was so much down time where [Lamas] just laid on top of me and there was no action. Even when we were on our feet against the cage doing absolutely nothing for almost a minute, we didn't get a break.

"I don't want to talk bad about a ref or anything, but there was just way too much down time. I had to do something to open it up, so it was kind of like, 'Do I still sit here and then finally he's going to give me a break after two-and-a-half minutes of complete stalling? Or after 60 seconds do I start working on something?'"

Palaszewski felt the performance was not up to par with his past efforts, so the opportunity to return quickly was a blessing.

"It was just a really boring fight," Palaszewski said. "I don't think it was on my part. I tried to push the pace. I was coming forward, and he just laid on top of me.

"I guess [Lamas] didn't go to a fight. He came to win a contest. He did a great job of that. He won a contest, but I don't think he won a fight in any way, shape, or form."

Original Njokuani opponent Anthony Pettis' broken hand and bad fortune ended up being Palaszewski's gain. Besides, as the Team Curran figher joked, he's got a fall-back position.

"I don't want to lose, obviously, again," Palaszewski said. "But it is a short-notice fight, so it's a ready made excuse.

Just kidding. No, man. I'm in shape. I'm always ready to go. The WEC asked if we could do it. I'm more than happy to do it for them. It's a great promotion. They treat us well. So I guess I'm getting on their good side by doing it."

Palaszewski knows he's not taking an easy fight.

"I think it's a great matchup for both of us," Palaszewski said. "My main game is the stand-up, and so is his. He's a phenomenal Thai-boxer, so we just have different styles of stand-up.

"I'm looking for a war, and I think I finally got one. I'm sure he's going to be ready to bring it. He's a tough dude, and he's just so unorthodox and tall at 155 pounds - it's ridiculous. And like I said, he's got phenomenal Thai boxing. It's going to be a fight for sure."

Palaszewski has won just two of his past four bouts, but the former IFL star remains relaxed, confident, and ready to shine once again.

"I'd really like to thank my fans for the support and the WEC for another shot," Palaszewski said. "I'm not a prima donna where I can only fight two or three times a year. Somebody's always fighting in our gym, so we're always training hard and getting somebody in shape. To get somebody in shape, you've got to be in shape.

"But I just want to get out there. I'm a fighter."

Source (http://mmajunkie.com/news/14377/palaszewski-sees-short-notice-wec-40-fight-as-opportunity-for-redemption.mma)