Former Hearts defender takes up MMA and WINS first fight despite just 24 hours to prepare

'What is Blazej Augustyn, who made 22 appearances for Hearts in 2015/16, up to these days?'

It probably wasn't the question on your mind when you woke up this morning, but we're giving you the answer anyway. He's a cage fighter, and by the looks of things, a pretty good one at that.

The Polish centre-back hasn't officially retired from playing but his days of kicking a ball are coming to an end as he turns out for lower league outfit WKS Wierzbice in his homeland. He spends more time kicking people in the head these days and picked up his first professional MMA win at a Clout MMA event this weekend - despite being given just 24 hours to prepare. Augustyn is a known hard man and in 2020 he was linked with a fight against former Leicester defender Marcin Wasilewski that ultimately didn't come to pass.

On Saturday though he did take on seasoned fighter Dominik Pudzianowski, and he won hands down. He was on the undercard at the first Clout MMA gala and announced his appearance 24 hours before he walked out at the octagon in Krakow.

Fans who still follow Augustyn on Instagram from his time at Hearts will know all about his plans to move into cage fighting as he regularly posts snaps and videos of himself training and in the gym. A one-time journeyman, he joined Bolton Wanderers in 2005 and went on to play for a number of sides in Italy and Poland, spending one season at Hearts during Robbie Neilson's first spell in charge.

That didn't go as planned but now 35, he's making a serious go of a fighting career. MMA Rocks note that he 'dominated' his older opponent despite only accepting the fight 24 hours earlier and video circulating on social media backs up that assessment. Augustyn was praised for his controlled style and