Charged by the support of his home crowd, Conrad Krzysztan is chasing the most significant victory of his fighting career.
Krzysztan (3-3) is set to square off against Winnipeg's Thomas Richardson (5-1, 1 NC) inside the cage at XFFC 20 on Friday evening in Grande Prairie, Alta.
Krzysztan, 30, expressed excitement about the chance to capture a major win against a skilled opponent with his loved ones watching from the stands.
"It would definitely feel good, that's for sure," said Krzysztan.
"I'm just treating him like I do every opponent, where I don't underestimate anyone. I'll just expect him to be a tough fight."
Krzysztan's previous cage appearance came back in April 2017, when he fell to Chris Day via third round submission. Before that matchup, he had spent three years away from competition.
Despite having competed just once over the past four and a half years, Krzysztan remains unfazed about potential rust affecting his performance.
"I don't think I felt rusty after the three years off. I just made some stupid mistakes," said Krzysztan.
"I'm not really the type of guy who takes fights and then starts training. I'm just always training."
Even though he's logged six fights across his career, this marks Krzysztan's debut at welterweight, having previously competed as a lightweight.
Krzysztan explained that while he never struggled with the lightweight division, moving up to welterweight will suit him much better going forward.
"Because I work so much, the weight cut just completely screwed up everything for me," said Krzysztan.
"155 was a big cut for me. I used to be more worried about making weight than training."
Richardson's Confidence Sky-High
Richardson, 24, will feel comfortable at 170 pounds, having spent most of his career in that weight class.
He believes Krzysztan is making a strategic error moving up to welterweight, and doesn't foresee it working out in the shorter man's favour.
"Take a look at my last fight. It was a 155er with a similar record coming up to 170, and it wasn't an easy night for him," said Richardson in an interview.
"It's going to be the exact same thing."
Besides his single defeat, Richardson has never been forced to go the distance, having finished all five of his professional wins, along with four additional amateur stoppages.
While acknowledging that Krzysztan represents a serious challenge, Richardson remains confident he'll leave the cage with another finish under his belt.
"I'm sure you can take a look at my record and my wins and see how it's going to end," said Richardson.
"But I'm still preparing like he's a top-notch world champion fighter. I'm ready to go and I hope he is too."
Cardio has long been recognized as one of Richardson's greatest strengths, and it's an area he dedicates considerable attention to during training.
Given Krzysztan's single fight over the past four years compared to Richardson's six fights in that same span, Richardson emphasized that stamina will likely prove decisive on fight night.
"My cardio is top notch. I run marathons. I don't mess around," said Richardson.
"I don't know why he's taking this fight to be honest, but it's better for me."
Krzysztan's Shoutouts
"I'd like to give a shoutout to all my training partners, my coaches, Bill Mahood and Adam Link."
Richardson's Shoutouts
"I'd just like to thank my coach at WAMMA, Curtis Brigham, all my training partners, and all my family and friends."
