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MMA

09th Oct 2016

People think the multilingual UFC 204 translator deserves Performance of the Night

We struggle enough with English

Tom Victor

UFC 204 had more than enough memorable moments to reward those who made it over to the Manchester Arena for the early prelims.

But one man showed more than anyone else that he truly belongs in the promotion.

No, not Marc Diakiese, for his thrilling debut victory.

Nor Iuri Alcantara, who made short work of Brad Pickett.

Not even Michael Bisping, Dan Henderson or Jimi Manuwa, all of whom received actual Performance of the Night bonuses alongside Alcantara.

No, we’re talking about the real star of the show – the Octagon translator.

We soon learned the man in question is Polish, and is named Dariusz Kruczek.

And if you didn’t think speaking English, Polish and Portuguese were enough, his pre-fight tweets show he has at least one more string to his bow.

Not that he needed to put his Dutch skills to the test, with both Gegard Mousasi and Stefan Struve fluent in English.

To say the people were impressed would be a bit of an understatement. They think he was the stand-out performer and, honestly, who are we to argue?

Even Eddie Alvarez was impressed, even if it seemed the UFC 205 headliner was more concerned with our hero’s secret identity.

There was something magical about Kruczek’s display, but had he cast a spell on the audience, or had he bluffed his way through part of the night? The jury’s still out.

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