Paweł Nastula
| Paweł Nastula | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
Paweł Nastula June 26, 1970 Warsaw, Poland |
| Residence | Warsaw, Poland |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Weight | 241 lb (109 kg; 17 st 3 lb) |
| Division | Heavyweight (265 lb) |
| Style | Judo |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| Fighting out of | Warsaw, Poland |
| Team | Nastula Team |
| Rank | Black belt in Judo |
| Years active | 2005–present (MMA) |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 11 |
| Wins | 5 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 2 |
| Losses | 6 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 2 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Paweł Marcin Nastula (born 26 June 1970 in Warsaw) is a Polish judoka and mixed martial artist. He was the 1995 and 1997 Judo World Champion, and 1996 gold medallist at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, winning those titles in the U95kg weight category.
Judo career
Paweł started training Judo at the age of 10 at AZS AWF. In addition to the 1996 Summer Olympics, Nastula had won many European and World competitions, and was considered one of the top judo players in the world. Between February 1994 and March 1998 Nastula was unbeaten in Judo, having 312 consecutive wins over a period of those 1,220 days and winning every competition, a monumental feat. His winning streak snapped when the weight category was changed (from -95 kg to -100 kg).
He retired from the sport in 2004.
Mixed martial arts career
Pride
Nastula received a very tough welcome to the PRIDE organisation, immediately pitted to face one of PRIDE's top heavyweight contenders and seasoned professionals in Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira. The judoka was assigned to the Takada Dojo and trained with several fighters to make the jump; also, due to his age and experience disadvantages, Nastula tried to negotiate a shorter fight with PRIDE Bushido rules and with both contenders wearing a gi, but Nogueira refused, so Pawel had to go for it nonetheless.[1] Nastula did well during the match, holding his own in the grappling exchanges for the first half of the round, but his inexperience was evident when Nogueira capitalized on his striking superiority, getting the upper hand in the mat with several knees to the head. After receiving a hard right hand, Nastula managed to get a takedown, but he was too tired to remain in the offensive role, and Nogueira found little resistance to unload ground and pound until the referee stop.
His second opponent would be perhaps an even tougher matchup, Alexander Emelianenko, sambo practitioner and brother of the legendary Fedor Emelianenko. The judoka performed better and controlled the earlier action both standing and on the ground, attempting armbars and taking Emelianenko's back, but his stamina played again against him. With his opponent tired, Alexander reversed him, took the mount and locked a rear naked choke for the submission.
Nastula wasted little time lamenting these losses, and in his 3rd match in July 2006, he made easy work of the previously unbeaten MMA professional Edson Drago. Pawel threatened him with an inverted armbar from the bottom and later mounted him, throwing punches over the Brazilian and opening a cut in his eye. At the end, Nastula locked another armbar from the bottom and made Drago tap out.
Pawel's last fight in PRIDE would be against catch wrestler Josh Barnett in PRIDE 32: The Real Deal. The judoka again showed an excellent performance, taking down Barnett several times and landing effective left hooks, but Josh reversed him later in the match and executed a toehold to submit Nastula. It was later announced that he failed his NSAC-administered drug test.[2] Nastula tested positive for the banned substance nandrolone as well as banned stimulants phenylpropanolamine, pseudoephedrine, and ephedrine. Nastula has denied the veracity of the test results, however, claiming that the stimulants were absorbed into his system from over-the-counter supplements and that nandrolone, a mass-building substance, would not have been useful to him as he has not gained any muscle mass since coming to PRIDE. According to an interview by the website www.budo.pl, Nastula has hired lawyers to solve the situation.
World Victory Road
Following the fall of PRIDE, Nastula signed with World Victory Road and competed at Sengoku 4, losing via a controversial TKO to Yang Dong Yi. After Dong narrowly escaped an armbar attempt from the judoka, Nastula was unable to answer the referee's call to stand up, having received numerous strikes to the groin earlier in the fight. At that moment, Nastula indicated problems with his protective cup, but instead of ordering it to be checked up, the referee inexplicably halted the bout and declared Yang the winner by TKO.[3]
Return to MMA
In 2008 Nastula was signed by a new promotion from Poland, MCC (Martial Combat Club) and was expected to face Koji Kanechika in their event in May.[4] Unfortunately, the promotion folded and the event was cancelled.
Since then, Paweł was reported to be in talks with various promotions from Poland. KSW stated to be in talks with Nastula several times, changing its mind about the event he should participate in. For example, Paweł was reported to face Mariusz Pudzianowski at KSW XIII, which was later changed to KSW XIV. However, after losing to Tim Sylvia, Pudzianowski pulled out of that fight.
Despite many failed returns to the ring, and no bouts since the Sengoku loss from August 2008, Paweł remained active, running his club (Nastula Club) in Warsaw and training with fighters like Robert Jocz, Jan Błachowicz and Krzysztof Kułak. However, after Pudzianowski's withdrawal from KSW XIV, Nastula stated in recent interviews, that he will retire if he won't get to fight in 2010.
In July 2010, Nastula signed with another new Polish promotion, Fighters Arena. Paweł made his anticipated comeback (and first ring appearance in Poland) at the inauginational show of the promotion in the Atlas Arena in Łódź, Poland, facing Yusuke Masuda (training partner of Hidehiko Yoshida) in the main event. Nastula proved to be in shape, as he quickly knocked down his opponent and followed with a flurry of punches on the ground, forcing the referee to stop the bout early at 0:26 of the first round.
At KSW 24, Nastula competed to crown the first KSW Heavyweight champion against Karol Bedorf.[5] He lost the fight due to exhaustion in the second round.
Personal life
Paweł is married and has two daughters.
For his sport achievements, he received the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (5th Class) in 1996.
Nastula is the author of the book My Judo (2000), where he describes his favourite techniques and their combinations.
He took part in the 2009 Polish version of Dancing with the Stars, eventually finishing sixth overall.
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 11 matches | 5 wins | 6 losses |
| By knockout | 2 | 3 |
| By submission | 3 | 2 |
| By decision | 0 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 5–6 | Mariusz Pudzianowski | Decision (unanimous) | KSW 29 | December 6, 2014 | 3 | 3:00 | Kraków, Poland | Fight of the Night |
| Loss | 5–5 | Karol Bedorf | TKO (exhaustion) | KSW 24 | September 28, 2013 | 2 | 2:25 | Łódź, Poland | For KSW Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 5–4 | Kevin Asplund | Submission (americana) | KSW 22 | March 16, 2013 | 1 | 2:33 | Warszawa, Poland | |
| Win | 4–4 | Jimmy Ambriz | Submission (hand injury) | STC: Bydgoszcz vs. Torun | October 1, 2011 | 1 | 1:50 | Bydgoszcz, Poland | Wins Streetfighters Team Cup Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 3–4 | Andrzej Wronski | TKO (punches) | Wieczór Mistrzów | August 20, 2011 | 1 | 1:09 | Koszalin, Poland | |
| Win | 2–4 | Yusuke Masuda | TKO (punches) | FAL: Fighters Arena Lódz | September 3, 2010 | 1 | 0:26 | Łódź, Poland | |
| Loss | 1–4 | Yang Dongi | TKO (exhaustion) | World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 4 | August 24, 2008 | 2 | 2:15 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | |
| Loss | 1–3 | Josh Barnett | Submission (toe hold) | Pride 32 - The Real Deal | October 21, 2006 | 2 | 3:04 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Nastula tested positive for steroids. |
| Win | 1–2 | Edson Claas Vieira | Submission (armbar) | Pride FC - Critical Countdown Absolute | July 1, 2006 | 1 | 4:33 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | |
| Loss | 0–2 | Alexander Emelianenko | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Pride Shockwave 2005 | December 31, 2005 | 1 | 8:45 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | |
| Loss | 0–1 | Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira | TKO (punches) | Pride Critical Countdown 2005 | June 26, 2005 | 1 | 8:38 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan |
Awards and titles
Judo
- 1996 Atlanta 1st Prize (Gold Medal)
- 1991 Barcelona 2nd Prize
- 1995 Tokyo 1st Prize
- 1997 Paris 1st Prize
- 1994-1996 1st Prize
- 1999 Bratislava 2nd Prize
Mixed martial arts
- Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki
- Fight of the Night (1 Time)
- Streetfighters Team Cup
- Streetfighters Team Cup Heavyweight Championship (1 Time)
References
- ↑ "Pride FC - Critical Countdown 2005". Sherdog.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 22, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
- ↑ "Gomi, Trigg get wins; Schultz knocked out". sherdog.com. August 24, 2008.
- ↑ "Martial Combat Club Gala MMA May 31 2008_pr". thefightgame.tv.
- ↑ "KSW24: Bedorf vs Nastula and Jewtuszko vs Winner to fight for KSW belts.". Sherdog.
