Krzysztof Soszynski
Krzysztof Soszyński is a Polish‑Canadian actor and retired mixed martial artist. Born on August 2, 1977, in Stalowa Wola, Poland, he moved to Winnipeg, Canada, when he was ten years old. He fought in MMA from 2003 to 2014, competing in the UFC, Strikeforce, and the IFL. He also appeared on The Ultimate Fighter reality show. His nickname was “The Polish Experiment.” He stood 6 feet 1 inch tall, fought at around 205 pounds, and fought both as a heavyweight and a light heavyweight. His reach was about 77.5 inches, and he fought with a southpaw stance.
Soszyński grew up playing football and soccer before starting weight training at 16. He later moved into bodybuilding and professional wrestling, where he learned judo and submissions from fellow wrestler Bad News Brown. He trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in Winnipeg under Rodrigo Munduruca. Before MMA, he worked as a houseman at the Fairmont Winnipeg Hotel and helped promote local MMA events in Manitoba.
In The Ultimate Fighter, Soszyński defeated Mike Stewart and Kyle Kingsbury to reach the semifinals, where he lost to Vinny Magalhães. He made his UFC debut against Shane Primm and won by kimura submission, earning Submission of the Night. He then submitted Brian Stann with a kimura at UFC 97, earning another Submission of the Night.
Soszyński replaced injured fighters a few times, knocking out André Gusmão at UFC 98. He lost to Brandon Vera at UFC 102 by unanimous decision. He beat Stephan Bonnar at UFC 110 by a late third‑round TKO due to a cut, a win that sparked controversy over the referee’s decision. The rematch at UFC 116 ended in a Bonnar knockout by knee, in a fight that earned Fight of the Night honors and extra prize money for both fighters.
He defeated Goran Reljić by decision at UFC 122 and later beat Mike Massenzio by decision at UFC 131. He then faced a KO loss to Igor Pokrajac at UFC 140. After that fight, Soszyński announced he was considering retirement, and in August 2014 he disclosed his retirement due to memory problems following his last fight.
Outside of fighting, Soszyński had acting roles, including a small part in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and appearances in movies such as Here Comes the Boom, Tapped Out (2014), Daylight’s End (2016), and Logan (2017).
He was married and has a son. After retiring, he worked as a coach at UFC Gym Torrance and later served as Director of MMA and Fitness for UFC Gym in the Middle East. He has also worked as a color commentator for Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW) as of 2020.
This page was last edited on 1 February 2026, at 23:20 (CET).