#AndNew XTB
#KSWEpic
KSW LHW Champion
🇵🇱 Rafal Haratyk 👑 pic.twitter.com/B7pJQN5OqV— KSW (@KSW_MMA)
February 24, 2024
Rafal
Haratyk and Damian
Piwowarczyk left it all on the line in the
KSW “Epic” one-night light heavyweight tournament. The winner
was to be crowned as the
Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki 205-pound champ and you could’ve made
a case for Haratyk or Piwowarczyk winning the fight.
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Piwowarczyk’s heavy hands made it a nightmare for Haratyk to come
inside but the savvy vet kept the pressure and secured pivotal
takedowns at the right time. In the end, the fight was scored a
split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28) for the “Polish Tank.” With
the win, Haratyk claimed the belt, but his first challenge could
await him in Ivan
Erslan, who impressed earlier in the day with a first-round
knockout over Bogdan
Gnidko.
Darko
Stosic starched
Professional Fighters League alum Matheus
Scheffel in the first round of their heavyweight
Pride Fighting Championships rules bout. Like most fights at
KSW “Epic,” this one was a mismatch as Scheffel was dropped quickly
by a heavy right hand before being pounded into submission at 1:14
of the first round.
No. 1 ranked light heavyweight Haratyk locked up the second finale
spot with a first-round stoppage over Marcin
Wojcik. Haratyk went into the fight knowing that Piwowarczyk
would be fresh after his opening-period finish and that he needed
to follow suit. After several exchanges in the clinch, Haratyk
snapped Wojcik’s head back with an up jab before sitting him on his
butt with an overhand right at the 4:05 mark.
Piwowarczyk punched his ticket to the light heavyweight final with
a picture-perfect liver shot on Kleber
Silva. Silva started the match fast and staggered Piwowarczyk
with a right cross, but the much larger Pole ate the shot and
pushed forward. After walking Silva back to the cage, he ended the
fight with a liver shot 2:34 into the first.
Former
Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion Josh Barnett
challenged current KSW heavyweight king Philip De
Fries to a submission grappling match. Barnett didn’t threaten
De Fries on the ground, but despite dominating position, the
champion was unable to secure a finish. After 10 minutes of
wrestling, the bout was declared a draw.
A battle of Polish combat greats ended bizarrely as former light
heavyweight and cruiserweight boxing champion Tomasz Adamek defeated
former KSW ace Mamed
Khalidov by TKO after Khalidov was unable to continue before
the beginning of the fourth round.
Khalidov was giving the 47-year-old Adamek trouble throughout the
entire fight and was arguably winning the bout at the time of the
stoppage. Despite the boxing ruleset, the contest took place in the
traditional KSW cage, and Adamek couldn’t cut off the much faster,
unpredictable Khalidov.
Khalidov landed awkward leaping backhands, and his willingness to
switch stances in a flash made him a frustrating track for the
flat-footed boxing legend. Still, Adamek’s jab and body work kept
the rounds close and tough to score. Before the start of the
fourth, Khalidov was unable to continue after he could barely lift
his right arm and complained of pain in his wrist area. Instead of
going to the scorecards, Adamek was awarded the victory by TKO.
Vaclav Sivak was too much for Michal Krolik in their 145-pound muay
thai bout. For three rounds, Sivak picked Krolik apart with body
kicks and heavy overhand rights. Krolik struggled to carry Sivak’s
power and was nearly stopped, yet he survived to the final bell
before losing by unanimous decison. Sivak came in 25-0 and proved
to be head and shoulders above the former bare-knuckle boxer.
Blink, and you might’ve missed Erslan’s first-round knockout over
Gnidko. Erslan set Gnidko up in the opening minute and dropped him
on his back with a left hook before closing the show with an
emphatic right hand. The winner of Erslan and Gnidko’s light
heavyweight tilt earned an alternate spot in the light heavyweight
tournament final if needed. Since Erslan (14-3-0, 1 NC) was unsure
at the moment if he had to fight again, he wisely called out the
winner of the tournament to face him down the line.
SOCCER KICKS!!!!! 🤯
🇩🇪🇵🇱 Muslim Tulshaev wins the No Holds Barred fight! XTB
#KSWEpic pic.twitter.com/ml5OCZ0jmi— KSW (@KSW_MMA)
February 24, 2024
Muslim
Tulshaev signed up for his KSW debut on just a few days’ notice
without any qualms about the ultra-violent, no-holds-barred
ruleset. Soccer kicks, head stomps and elbows would all be allowed
for his 181-pound catchweight bout against Konrad
Rusinski, and Tulshaev was determined to use his entire
arsenal.
Tulshaev was nearly finished with a guillotine in the first round
and was almost stopped by Rusinksi’s ground-and-pound in the second
frame. If he was going to pull off the upset in his KSW debut he’d
need to embrace the violence. And that he did.
Tulshaev turned out Rusinski’s lights 15 seconds into the third
round after dropping the Pole with an uppercut and then following
up with a devastating soccer kick. Tulshaev would’ve punted
Rusinki’s head into the third row if he could’ve, and the crowd
loved it. Soccer kicks have been controversial throughout the
history of MMA, but Tulshaev’s finish was a stellar yet violent
blast from the past.
KSW “Epic” opened with an old-school MMA gi match between Brazilian
jiu-jitsu black belt Piotr
Kacprzak and judo black belt Adam Brysz.
Despite the focus on the two disciplines, Kacprzak’s 13
professional MMA fights to Brysz’s two was the real story. Brysz
walked forward, looking to clinch and test Kacprzak’s grappling
prowess, but instead, he was obliterated by punches and kicks.
Kacprzak walked through Brysz and secured a first-round TKO in the
opening two minutes.