The Battle for Radom has been decided!
🇵🇱 @kaczmarczykmma
jumps into the crowd to celebrate! XTB
#KSW88 pic.twitter.com/tBzPrp0VqR— KSW (@KSW_MMA)
November 11, 2023
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What promised to be a showdown between two of Poland’s favorite
sons, No. 6 featherweight Patryk
Kaczmarczyk upset No. 2 Daniel
Rutkowski by narrow unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in
the
KSW 88 main event at the RCS Hall in Radom, Poland.
In a card that produced eight finishes, five in the first round,
Kaczmarczyk (11-2) nearly produced the fastest finish of the night
after dropping Rutkowski (16-4) in the first 10 seconds with a
flush switch knee. Rutkowski played off his back for the rest of
the round and recovered nicely.
Kaczmarczyk’s striking prowess continued into Round 2 as the
25-year-old once again floored Rutkowski with a rear roundhouse
kick off the temple. Kaczmarczyk followed Rutkowski to the ground,
squandering his opportunity to finish.
Kaczmarczyk’s inability to find the finish nearly cost him in the
final round as Rutkowski turned the tide and took the much younger
man’s back. Kaczmarczyk fought off rear-naked choke attempts for
over a minute before getting back to his feet. Despite having the
two biggest moments of the fight, the fight tightened near the end
and Kaczmarczyk’s biggest win of his career was in the air.
Fortunately for the RKT Radom prospect, his two knockdowns in the
opening two rounds were enough to hold on for a slim victory. The
win gives Kaczmarczyk his third in a row and could put him on the
path for an eventual showdown with featherweight kingpin Salahdine
Parnasse.
Piotr
Kuberski brought down the house in the co-main event after
sleeping No. 8 middleweight Bartosz
Lesko in the second round.
Lesko, an extremely skilled kickboxer in his own right, was
technical and sharp in the first round and cut Kuberski over the
eye. Kuberski returned the favor by cutting off the ring and nearly
finishing Lesko with a flush right hand that dropped him to his
knees.
Kuberski’s confidence was too much to avoid in the second round.
Despite Lesko’s tricky teeps and quick elbows, Kuberski’s lack of
respect made life hard for the No. 8 middleweight.
With nowhere left to run, Kuberski landed a beautiful three-punch
combination that put Lesko flat on his back and out. The win gave
Kuberski (12-1) his 10th straight.
Thirty Four-year-old Light Heavyweight Marcin
Wojcik has been on a tear. “The Giant” has finished his last
five opponents and unfortunately for No. 5 ranked Henrique
da Silva, Wojcik’s momentum was too much to contain. Wojik
pummeled Da Silva with ease in Round 1, flirting with a technical
knockout stoppage at any time, while still trying to find a way to
sneak in a rear-naked choke. Wojcik’s indecisiveness to pursue was
the only reason why Da Silva survived to see the second round.
Wojik’s decision making was simplified in the second round as the
Pole walked across the cage and landed a flush uppercut that
snapped Da Silva’s head back into the canvas. The bout was called
immediately (0:30) as Wojik (19-8) walked back to his corner
triumphantly.
Albert
Odzimkowski (13-7) lived up to his nickname “The Golden One”
after landing a golden right hand that flattened Jorge
Luiz Bueno Jr. in the second round of their middleweight fight.
Round 1 was back and forth, but it was apparent early that
Odzimkowski’s power was more legitimate for a middleweight. Knowing
that, Odzimkowski charged forward in the second stanza and walked
down Bueno with a long right hand. After staggering Bueno into the
fence, Odzimokowski secured his second straight KO with a right
cross that left Bueno flat on his face.
KSW 88 was filled with early violence and the heavyweight showdown
between No.7 ranked contender Stefan
Vojcak and No. 9 Kamil
Gawryjolek was no different. Vojcak bounced back from a
knockout loss in his last fight to give Gawryjolek (5-1) his first
loss by first-round knockout (1:06). Gawryjolek looked to take the
fight to the ground but he never got the chance. Vojcak landed a
heavy right hand and put his rival on his butt before following up
with a flurry of punches that forced referee Tomasz Bender to
intervene.
20-year-old featherweight contender Daniel
Tarchila (7-2) is quickly moving up the ranks, but
unfortunately due to a last-minute replacement, Tarchila had to
fight pro debutant Vladyslav
Falbiychuk.
Falbiychuk showcased the skills he picked up in the amateur ranks
early as the fight was even on the feet. Tarchila was cautious —
having little information on his new opponent — but ramped up the
pressure once the fight went to the ground. Falbiychuk mistakenly
shelled up and went into turtle guard as the Maldivian took his
back and finished the bout with a rear-naked choke midway through
the first round.
Last-minute replacement Fabian
Luczak was fed to a wolf in No. 9 ranked lightweight Ramzan
Jembiev (5-1). Jembiev took out Luczak with no mercy in the
first round of the 159-pound catchweight fight. In the opening
minutes of the bout, Jembiev, who’s won five straight, landed at
will before taking Luczak to the ground and sinking in the
rear-naked choke.
Maria
Silva (10-1) could be on her way to securing a shot at the
vacant KSW strawweight title after cruising to a unanimous decision
win over Anita Bekus
(7-4).
Bekus started fast but quickly waned after being bullied in the
clinch from Silva. Silva nearly finished the fight in the second
round after taking Bekus’ back, but the Pole survived until the
bell. By the third round, Silva was in complete control but instead
of hunting for the finish, she calmy outboxed Bekus. Since losing
on
Dana White’s Contender Series in August 2022, Silva has won
both her KSW bouts in dominant fashion.
Konrad
Rusinski (6-1) continued the trend of first-round finishes in
his middleweight showdown against Krystian
Bielski (9-6). Rusinski proved to be too much on the ground for
the more experienced Bielski and snatched a rear-naked choke finish
midway through the first round to pick up his second win in a
row.
Despite it being a battle of unbeatens, Michal
Gniady (2-0) stormed over previously undefeated Jacek Gac
(2-1). Gniady kicked off the 10-fight KSW 88 card with a
first-round finish over Gac in in their 176-pound catchweight
bout.
Gniady dropped Gac early and pounced on his man before catching him
in a crucifix. Gniady maintained top pressure and peppered Gac with
elbows before the fight was stopped at the 1:58 mark of the first
round.