UFC Veteran Darko Stosic Demolishes Michal Martinek at KSW 87

KSW
87 took place in the beautiful Czech Republic and featured
plenty of local talent.

In the headliner, No. 1 ranked heavyweight and
Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Darko
Stosic (19-6, 5-1 KSW) faced No. 3 Michal
Martinek (10-5, 1-2 KSW). Stosic went 1-3 in the UFC, with his
last outing a decision loss to current light heavyweight champion
Jamahal
Hill, but had gone 5-2 since leaving the organization,
including four thunderous knockouts. Stosic already had a crack at

KSW heavyweight champion Phil De Fries but was been forced to
retreat late in Round 5. Stosic was hoping a big win could get him
a rematch.

Martinek, meanwhile, was looking to right the ship and electrify
the home crowd after a split decision verdict against another UFC
veteran, Daniel
Omielanczuk, went against him last time out. As with many of
Stosic’s bouts, the ending was sudden and brutal. At just over 2
minutes into the fight, he landed a clubbing overhand right that
hit the side of Martinek’s head and then hit pay dirt with a
furious left hook flush on the chin, causing the Czech to crash to
the canvas at the 2:04 mark. It was yet another highlight-reel
knockout, and Stosic called out De Fries for a rematch
afterward.

The co-main event was a battle of lightweight contenders as No. 3
ranked Roman
Szymanski (17-8, 9-5 KSW) of Poland met No. 7 hometown hero
Leo
Brichta (12-3, 2-0 KSW). Szymanski is a long-time veteran of
the Polish promotion despite still being only 30 and Brichta was
riding an impressive 7-fight winning streak heading into the
contest. It was a close battle for the first two rounds, with the
6′ tall Brichta having a small advantage in the striking but the 5′
8” Szymanski utilizing timely takedowns, including one that likely
won him the second stanza. However, in the final round, it was
Brichta who attained top position, and an exhausted Szymanski had
no answer to an endless barrage of ground and pound. Tired himself,
not all of Brichta’s blows were hard, but the domination led
referee Tomasz Bonder to halt the action just 10 seconds until the
final bell.

The KSW light heavyweight rankings saw an upset when 31-year-old
top Croatian contender Ivan Erslan
(13-3, 3-3 KSW) met promotional newcomer, 36-year-old Polish
fighter Rafal
Haratyk (17-5-2, 1-0 KSW). After a very quiet first round where
both men were feeling one another out, Erslan ran right into a big
bomb in the form of a Haratyk overhand right, dropping him like a
sack of potatoes before follow-up blows prompted a stoppage 4:21
into the contest.

At bantamweight, the very well-traveled Czech Filip Macek
(27-19-1, 0-2 KSW) scrapped with Ukrainian Oleksii
Polishchuk (11-4, 1-1 KSW) but came up short, with the latter
locking in a slick triangle armbar to elicit a tap at 4:06 of the
first frame. At light heavyweight, 23-year-old Polish prospect
Michal
Dreczkowski (4-0, 1-0 KSW) faced his sternest test yet in the
form of Czech veteran Vojtech
Garba (8-5, 0-1 KSW). Garba had his moments, but Dreczkowski
took the unanimous decision at the end, staying perfect.

In a 192-pound catchweight affair, Adrian
Dudek (7-2, 1-1 KSW) dominated Lukas
Dvorak (5-3, 0-1 KSW), winning an easy decision with scores of
30-27 across the board. At lightweight, Sahil Siraj
(9-2, 1-1 KSW) scored a spectacular knockout of Ahmed
Abdulkadirov (9-2, 0-1 KSW), smashing him with an overhand
right and then finishing the job with a devastating left hook,
giving him 8 knockouts in 9 wins. The end came abruptly at 3:16 of
the first. In a featherweight affair, Dawid
Kareta (5-3, 1-0 KSW) beat previously unbeaten Josef
Stummer (3-1, 1-1 KSW) from pillar to post, delivering dozens
upon dozens of unanswered knees and punches to a huddled over, but
still standing Stummer. The beating was halted at 4:10 of the first
frame. Opening the card, Tobiasz Le
(4-1, 1-0 KSW) delivered a protracted mugging of Carl
McNally (2-2, 1-2 KSW), who was grounded due to an injured leg
and received an unending stream of ground-and-pound, with the fight
waived off 2:52 the third round.