He does it again!! Another incredible
performance from @SalahdineP
#KSW68 pic.twitter.com/dEAqJBQfos— KSW (@KSW_MMA)
March 19, 2022
Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki returned to the Sports Hall in Radom,
Poland, for a fight night full of finishes.
The
KSW 68 headliner saw two-time KSW 145-pound titleholder
Salahdine
Parnasse putting his championship on the line against Daniel
Rutkowski. Parnasse (17-1-1, KSW 8-1) attempted to rely on his
remarkable grappling skills right out of the gate but was easily
denied by Rutkowski, who kept the fight standing. The Frenchman
adapted to the situation by attacking with his jab, but it was
Rutkowski (13-3, 1-1 KSW) who dictated the pace and picked the
place of the fight. Thanks to an aggressive striking mixed with
some fine grappling activity, Rutkowski was arguably ahead on the
scorecards going into the championship rounds.
In the first seconds of the fourth frame, Parnasse caught his
adversary with a head kick, sending Rutkowski immediately to the
canvas. The French champion rushed to finish his opponent with a
battery of punches, but Rutkowski escaped in the first moment by
moving towards the cage and using it to get back on the feet.
Sensing a certain urgency to finish his foe, Parnasse captured
Rutkowski’s back and sank a rear-naked choke attempt. The
submission was tight enough to force Rutkowski to tap, silencing
the fans in the arena who were visibly cheering for the hometown
hero. The official time indicated 67 seconds of Round 4. During his
post-fight celebration, Parnasse challenged 155-pound kingpin
Marian
Ziolkowski for a battle.
In the co-main event, Tomasz
Romanowski and Michal
Pietrzak fought for three rounds in a 176-pound catchweight
bout. Both contestants opted to keep the fight on the feet as they
stood and traded blows in the center of the cage. As time went by,
it became clear that Romanowski (15-8, 3-1 KSW) had an edge over
his foe, as his punches impacted more frequently and more clearly
than Pietrzak’s offerings. For his part, Pietrzak (10-5-1, 2-2-1
KSW) looked to find the big shot to end the clash, especially in
the third frame. After three rounds, the ring announcer revealed
30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 scorecards in favor of Romanowski. In the
post-fight interview, “Tommy” asked for a clash with two-division
champion Roberto
Soldic.
HUGE KNOCKOUT!!
@d_janikowski
#KSW68 pic.twitter.com/quSUeLq8BJ— KSW (@KSW_MMA)
March 19, 2022
Elsewhere, 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Damian
Janikowski (7-4, 7-4 KSW) knocked Tomasz
Jakubiec (10-4, 0-2 KSW) out cold with an overhand right at
3:42 mark of Round 1 in their middleweight encounter; Ricardo
Prasel (12-3, 1-0 KSW) scored an impressive comeback and forced
a stoppage on Michal Kita
(21-14-1, 3-5 KSW) with punches and elbows two minutes into the
second frame of their heavyweight tilt; 145-pounder Patryk
Kaczmarczyk (8-1, 2-1 KSW) stopped Michal
Domin (4-3, 1-2 KSW) thanks to punches from the back position
at the 2:15 mark in the second stanza; Albert
Odzimkowski (12-6, 1-3 KSW) crushed Tommy Quinn
(8-6, 0-1 KSW) with ground-and-pound action at 2:21 of the first
frame of their middleweight encounter; Rafal
Kijanczuk (11-4, 1-0 KSW) smashed Yann
Kouadja (8-5, 0-1 KSW) with punches at the 2:03 mark of Round 1
in a 205-pound affair; featherweight Piotr
Kacprzak (7-3, 1-0 KSW) outpointed Jose Marcos
Lima Santiago Jr. (11-5, 0-1 KSW) on all the judges’ scorecards
(30-27, 30-27 and 30-27) at light heavyweight and Adam
Tomasik (6-1, 1-1 KSW) upended Marcin
Trzcinski (1-2, 0-2 KSW) via unanimous decision with three
30-27 nods from the judges.