Michal Pasternak

Status: Former ONE Athlete

Polish ADCC Champion Michal Pasternak is from Pinczow in Poland, and he began training in karate at the age of 17 before switching to Brazilian jiu-jitsu and boxing. In 2011, he came in second in two amateur mixed martial arts tournaments, and placed on the podium at the Polish ADCC National Cup.

Just one year later, Pasternak made his professional mixed martial arts debut, going on to take the Polish scene by storm and winning his first ten fights. This impressive record was enough to secure him a contract with ONE Championship, and he made his promotional debut in 2014, taking on Portuguese veteran Rafael Silva. During the match, Pasternak suffered a serious knee injury which left him virtually unable to stand, yet he somehow survived to win the bout via unanimous decision, showing tremendous resilience and determination.

Pasternak was then given an opportunity to continue his meteoric rise by taking on Roger Gracie to become the first-ever ONE Light Heavyweight World Champion, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He now seeks to establish himself in ONE’s highly-competitive middleweight division.