Quiet Storm

Quiet Storm

 

If you would meet Ivan Musardo away from the martial arts circus, at a bar or a café for example, you would never take him for one of the most ferocious lighter weight fighters in Europe. The Zurich, Switzerland native is just too calm, too collected and too soft-spoken. But you better not lock him inside a cage or put him into the squared circle and ring the bell or you will see the other side of Musardo: Ivan the Terrible!

 

“During the fight I flip a switch and go after my opponents with relentless aggression”, the 29-year-old Italian told wfc.si “That is what has earned me my nickname and that is what the fans want to see.”

 

His non-stop, no-nonsense fight style has yielded him fourteen career victories from eighteen fights. In his six year run through opponents in Switzerland, Holland, Italy, Germany, Japan, Scotland and now Slovenia he has never been submitted – quite the contrary, it were twelve of his opponents that had to tap out to his full arsenal of chokes and holds. Only having gone the distance twice, you can count on action in the ring when Musardo is fighting.

 

On March 27, the student of Nogueira black belt Augusto Frota will enter the WFC ring for the second time: “WFC is a great show, very professionally organized and superbly produced”, Musardo praises the event of promoter Zlatko Mahic. “World class fighters like Paul Daley, Francois Botha or Dennis Siver have graced their ring before, so you can effectively claim that WFC is marching forward as one of the flagship shows of European MMA.”

 

The ripped submission specialist is well-informed about what WFC 10 “Night of Champions“, which takes place at Ljubljana’s Hala Tivoli once again, will have to offer: “This time you have the massive fight between WFC champion Bruno Carvalho and KSW titleholder Vitor Nobrega as headliner. But don’t look beyond my fight either, but look forward to another spectacle! I’m very glad WFC has invited me again and I will give them what they are used to from me.”

 

After dispatching Austrian veteran Dorian Pridal in only three minutes at WFC 9, Musardo will face Poland’s Maciej Gorski this time. The 26-year-old Konin native has an extensive Muay Thai background. He is considered to be a good striker, very tough, durable and able to fight at a high pace. He has fought almost exclusively for KSW and has beaten two WFC fighters in Bojan Kosednar and Dalibor Anastasov already.

 

Gorski’s biggest career success so far was winning the KSW Extra four-man tournament to win the promotion’s lightweight champion title. Musardo is not taking this opponent lightly and seeking the best training possible to meet the challenge Gorski presents: “I am in Rio de Janeiro at the moment, preparing with the Nogueira brothers, Junior Cigano and Anderson Silva. The preparation is very intense with two training sessions per day. I’m gonna be in the shape of my life for this fight!”

 

With Ivan being a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Gorski a bonafide Muay Thai specialist, one would think that the strategy should be clear for the Italian: “I consider myself a complete martial artist, so for me it does not matter if we fight standing up or on the ground,” Musardo disagrees. “Although my backbone is jiu-jitsu, I have been training a lot of Muay Thai for my recent fights as well. Since every fight begins on the feet, I would not mind boxing with Gorski either. I don’t care if I win by knockout or submission!”

 

Not looking beyond the Polish “Highlander”, but the “Terrible” has his sights set on the gold. “Should I be able to defeat Gorski in a convincing manner, I would like to challenge WFC Slovenian superstar Bojan Kosednar to a fight for the vacant welterweight title. I have been fighting since 2004 and won a lot of fights, but not won a major belt so far. I would like to change that this year.”

 

Do not miss Ivan “The Terrible” Musardo taking the next step towards the WFC title as he faces his greatest challenge in hard-nosed Polish kickboxer Maciej “Highlander” Gorski at WFC “Night of Champions” at Hala Tivoli, Ljubljana on March 27! Tickets are on sale at eventim.si and all PETROL gas stations and start at a moderate 25 Euro.

 

by Tim Leidecker (tleidecker@gnp1.de)