Marian
Ziolkowski continued his lightweight championship reign with a
unanimous verdict against Sebastian
Rajewski in the main event of an action-packed
KSW 71 card at the Arena Torun in Torun, Poland, on
Saturday.
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Ziolkowski (25-8-1 1 NC, 6-2 KSW) showcased his usual coolness as
he studied his opponent in the bout’s early moments before coming
up with the right strategy to achieve victory. In turn, Rajewski
(12-7, 4-2 KSW) maintained the center of the cage and landed
offense from afar, disrupting Ziolkowski’s timing on several
occasions. Rajewski had a successful second round, scoring with
quick body kicks and dropping his foe with a well-timed overhand.
Ziolkowski weathered the storm and recomposed himself, keeping
Rajewski at bay with his educated jab. Ziolkowski found his pace
and range in the championship rounds and kept scoring precious
points thanks to his punches. Ultimately, the battle went to the
scorecards, and the judges submitted 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 nods in
favor of Ziolkowski. In addition to taking home a unanimous
decision victory, “The Golden Boy” notched his third title defense
and scored his fourth consecutive triumph.
The Bonecrusher wins!!
Errol
Zimmerman wins his KSW debut and calls out Izu Ugonoh for a
fight in MMA!! pic.twitter.com/E0CQQZBWN9
— KSW (@KSW_MMA)
June 18, 2022
The co-main event featured an innovative kickboxing battle with MMA
gloves between Marcin
Rozalski and Errol
Zimmerman. The action picked up immediately, as Rozalski
knocked his opponent down within the first 30 seconds of the fight.
“Bonecrusher” Zimmerman recovered and let his Polish foe empty his
gas tank in hopes of the finish. With Rozalski’s cardio waning,
Zimmerman attacked with clean strikes from afar. The first
knockdown from the Dutch fighter arrived midway through the round,
a heavy combination that dropped “Rozal” and shook his confidence.
Rozalski survived the count, but Zimmerman followed up with a
second knockdown due to some nasty leg kicks. An exhausted Rozalski
managed to make it to the second period, where Zimmerman proved to
be the superior athlete with relentless combinations. After
Zimmerman scored back-to-back knockdowns, referee Tomasz Bronder
stopped the action due to the four-knockdown rule at the 1:26 mark
of Round 2.
What a debut!!!
#KSW71@szpilka_artur
wins his KSW debut!!! pic.twitter.com/nzBMBKcuWC— KSW (@KSW_MMA)
June 18, 2022
Elsewhere, former KSW titleholders Daniel
Torres (14-5, 1 NC; 5-2 KSW) and Borys
Mankowski (22-10-1, 11-7 KSW) put on a hard-fought 155-pound
contest that ended with a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
in favor of Torres; former WBC heavyweight title contender Artur
Szpilka (1-0, 1-0 KSW) pummeled Serhii
Radchenko (2-2, 0-1 KSW) until Radchenko tapped to strikes 2:52
into the second period; Brave Combat Federation 155-pound alum
Valeriu
Mircea (26-8-1, 0-1 KSW) suffered an injury that prevented him
from competing against Roman
Szymanski (16-6, 8-3 KSW) after the end of the first period; at
bantamweight, Jakub
Wiklacz (13-3-1, 3-1 KSW) outclassed Bruno
Augusto dos Santos (10-4, 1-3 KSW) en route to a unanimous
decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26); Dana White’s Contender Series alum
Michal
Martinek (10-3, 1-0 KSW) outpointed Filip
Stawowy (9-3, 0-1 KSW) on all scorecards at heavyweight;
Donovan
Desmae (16-8, 2-1 KSW) submitted former 145-pound kingpin
Artur
Sowinski (21-14, 2 NC; 11-10, 1 NC KSW) via rear-naked choke at
2:42 into the second frame of their lightweight affair; and
205-pounder Marc
Doussis (8-1, 1 NC; 1-1 KSW) tapped Przemyslaw
Dzwoniarek (3-2, 0-1 KSW) with a guillotine choke 2:59 into
Round 2.