The Fighter
Waterloo mixed martial artist Pat Pytlik ready and waiting for shot at UFC
— Pat Pytlik was at a crossroad. The Waterloo native was 16 years old and an admittedly “bad kid” at St. David Catholic Secondary School.
He had a challenging home life under a Polish father set in his ways while other family members dealt with mental health issues.
“Growing up, things weren’t easy,” said Pytlik, now 29.
Then, his girlfriend at the time got pregnant. “I was having a hard time with it all,” he said. “I was a kid that was having a kid. There were two paths I think I could have chosen. I decided to choose the right path with something that could help me instead of self destructing.” To help, he turned to combat sports. Now, about a dozen years later, he is one of the most promising welterweight mixed martial artists in Canada.
Earlier this month, he stepped in for an in-
jured fighter and took a bout on short notice on a card put on by Unified MMA in Enoch, Alta.
The 170-pounder pummeled opponent Derek Boyle and finished the veteran in the first round to improve to 6-0 in the cage and earn a title shot on the promotion’s next card.
Pytlik’s perfect run and dominating style — all his wins have been by technical knockout — has piqued the interest of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
His manager, Luke Harris, is currently in talks with the outfit, putting Pytlik one step closer to achievement a lifelong dream of fighting in the UFC.
“That would mean the world,” he said. “It would mean all the injuries, sacrifices, being broke and spending time away from my daughter meant something.” Pytlik had a tough go as a teenager. Suddenly finding himself as an expectant father was a wake-up call.
“I was going crazy,” he said. “I didn’t really understand it. I really needed an outlet, something (other than being a dad) to focus my energy on.”
A trip to Kitchener’s TKO Fighting Arts, then located on Charles Street, helped turn things around. After a few classes, he was drawn to the strong and skilled Muay Thai kick-boxers at the gym.
“I wanted to be like them,” he recalled. Soon, he was consumed with the sport. And he was a natural. One fight turned into five and then more. He competed in provincial and national tournaments while compiling an amateur kick-boxing record of 27-7 with two no-contests.
He moved to Thailand — a Muay Thai hotbed — when he was 19 to train and compete on the pro circuit and was perfect in the ring. But it wasn’t a career for a young dad.
So it was back to Canada where he completed college to be a firefighter before moving to Edmonton to work in the oil industry.
But the fighting bug lingered. There wasn’t a kick-boxing gym handy so Pytlik headed to the Hayabusa Training Centre in nearby St. Albert, which specialized in MMA. The staff was so impressed by his striking ability that they hired him as an instructor.
Four months later, he was staring down Eric Tevely in the cage in his first MMA fight.
“I wasn’t prepared for it but I took the fight,” said Pytlik. “I ended up knocking him out in the third round. After I won, I knew I could do it. I was hooked.”
In the ring, things have gone smoothly.
Pytlik remains undefeated with convincing wins over some heady competition.
“He just has the mind of a fighter,” said Harris, a retired middleweight.
“He has something special. Even in the UFC there aren’t too many guys with the awareness and technical striking that Pat has.”
Outside the ring, the rigours of fighting have taken a toll.
Pytlik has suffered a broken leg and hand, as well as battled through a sciaticalike injury, among other ailments. There have been long days working as a welder followed by long hours in the gym. He’s missed moments with daughter Emma and saw a long-term relationship with a girlfriend end.
But the sacrifices looked like they were going to pay off this past December.
Pytlik used prize money from his fights and donations from friends and co-workers to fund a trip to Las Vegas to try out for the UFC’s reality TV show “The Ultimate Fighter.”
He was tested physically and interviewed at length — along with hundreds of other hopefuls — for a chance to compete for a spot on the program, which rewards the winner with a six-figure contract to star in the UFC.
And he made the final cast before the promotion decided to nix the welterweight class and focus on fighters from lighter divisions for the show instead.
“I felt like I finally got some recognition for everything I sacrificed and then it was just taken from me,” said Pytlik. “I was kind of depressed.”
But he left a good impression. Harris says the UFC is interested but the sides have yet to ink a deal.
“I think that (UFC contract) is the next step,” he added. “In my mind, there is no doubt that he’ll be there.”
The idea of hearing his name and moniker “The Fighting Pride of Kitchener” announced in the octagon at a UFC event is overwhelming.
Looking back, Pytlik never thought he’d be in this position when he walked through the doors at TKO Fighting Arts a dozen years back.
“This sport made me a better person,” he said.
He also credits his 10-year-old daughter for his ascension.
“It was having a kid at a young age that really fired me up and changed me and made me want to be somebody,” he said. “If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t have the drive and ambition and be who I am today.”