He says he’s still a Midwestern boy at heart, even if Alex Polizzi and his wife now call Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada, home.
You know Sin City. Glitter Gulch. Home of the most ostentatious gambling palaces in the land.
“Hey there’s other things to do in Las Vegas than gamble,” Polizzi said with a chuckle in a telephone interview. “It’s also the Fight Capital of the World.”
That’s the main impetus for Polizzi relocation and on Friday, the Beloit mixed martial arts fighter won’t have to venture far to step back into the cage for his debut in the Professional Fighters League. “Eazy” Polizzi will battle 2023 PFL light heavyweight champion Impa Kasanganay (15-4-0) at Virgin Hotels in Vegas in the main event on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
The 6-foot, 205-pound Polizzi is 10-3-0 as a pro. He has fought just twice in the past 22 months and both were losses so this is a huge fight for him. He suffered a broken jaw in a loss to Yoel Romero in 2022 and waited 13 months before facing Karl Moore in Bellator 297. He lost a unanimous decision in that bout.
Since moving to Vegas with his wife, Polizzi is now training at the highly-regarded Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas.
He’s no kid anymore at 32, but he feels great.
“There’s something to be said for the wisdom that comes with age,” he said. “I’m a little better at what I’m doing and I think I hit a little harder. I’m more efficient in my movement. I really feel like I’m in my prime. I know the the fighter I am today would kick the ass of the fighter I was 10 years ago.
“I still have that competitive edge. It feels nice to do something I am still good at and healthy enough to do. I think I’ll keep doing it as long as I have fun with it.”
The fun will definitely elevate if he’s successful Friday in his PFL debut.
“To anyone who is tuning in and checking it out Friday I don’t think they’re going to notice a difference,” Polizzi said. “It’s still two guys getting into a cage trying to hurt each other and one will win. If you have a very keen eye you might notice that no one throws elbows in this league. But it’s just unscripted violence.”
The PFL has a tournament format.
“The structure of this league is different,” Polizzi said. “In others you have fighters who become contenders and then champions. PFL is organized a little differently. There is a season and you fight a certain amount of fights in it, racking up points for stoppages and wins and the guys with the most points will earn a place in the postseason. Eventually it will culminate with one big fight with $1 million dollars on the line. That’s the big show and everyone is chasing that.”
Polizzi has a healthy respect for Kasanganay.
“He’s a former champion and with that comes respect,” the Beloit fighter said. “Obviously he’s a fighter of high caliber. I think it’s a chance for me to get a little bit of a splash and I’m looking forward to it.”
Anyone who knows Polizzi knows he’s not going to be pouring over video of past Kasanganay fights.
“I am loath to do that,” Polizzi said. “Training in Vegas there’s a ton of good information and my coaches will know all about him and I learn quickly. They know that you just tell Alex what he needs to do and I’m going to do it.”
He says that’s goes back to his Midwestern “training.”
“You know, you put your head down and you work hard and do your job. Nobody wants to hear you give a speech about it,” he said. “That was always the way in sports for me.”
It certainly worked for Polizzi, who graduated from Beloit Memorial High School in 2010 after an outstanding wrestling career. He won three Big Eight championships and finished third in the WIAA State Championships as a sophomore, second as a junior when he was 43-1 and champion as a senior when he went 45-0. He then enjoyed a successful collegiate career at Northwestern University.
Polizzi said he was happy when fellow Stateline MMA fighter Corey Anderson won a Bellator title recently.
“Being out here in Vegas I think I’ll end up seeing Corey a little more often,” Polizzi said. “Everybody seems to want to come out here to sharpen up stuff before a fight. The last time I spoke to him I told him I like to go out horseback riding and hit the trails. I didn’t know he was into that, too. We may do that some time.”
As for Polizzi, he plans on putting his best foot forward on Friday and he’ll be in his bushy-haired glory for this match.
“It’s long hair, don’t care,” he said with a chuckle.
The real question is whether he has finally relented and opted for authentic body ink rather than a slew of temporary tattoos.
“That isn’t as funny now because everyone knows about it,” Polizzi said of the fake tattoos. “I finally got one real tattoo, but I’m not going to tell which is the real one.”
Polizzi hasn’t forgotten his fans back home. One of his older sponsors is Vortex Optics out of Barneveld, Wis., and you can count on the Rock Bar & Grill televisions in Beloit being tuned to the fight on Friday night.
“So if you don’t have ESPN and you want to catch the action, just head down to the Rock,” Polizzi said. “They’ll have it on and you can have a beer and eat some Frickle Rolls.”
Sounds like a plan.
Most Popular
Comments / 0