Phil De Fries continued his reign of dominance at the top of the KSW heavyweight division as he extended three promotional records with a swift submission finish of Ricardo Prasel at KSW 74 in Ostrow Wielkopolski, Poland.
De Fries took the action to the mat early in the fight and dominated from top position, despite Prasel’s attempts to make something happen off his back. The Englishman weighed heavily down on the Brazilian as De Fries scored with some heavy elbows from half-guard before transitioning to the Prasel’s back and locking up a tight short choke for the first-round finish.
“I felt great,” said De Fries after his win.
“Ricardo’s a great grappler (but) he got me with a good knee to the body. But I was beating him up. I did my game and I got my submission. Respect to the man.”
De Fries also called for his next title defence to come against KSW legend and former World’s Strongest Man, Mariusz Pudzianowski.
“This feels great,” he said.
“I want to know, where’s ‘Pudzian!’ I want ‘Pudzian!'”
De Fries’ victory extended his all-time record for the most wins in KSW championship fights (eight), and the most title defences in KSW history (seven). He also extended his active KSW win streak to eight, which is also a record for active fighters in the Polish promotion.
In the co-main event, England’s Tom Breese claimed a submission victory over 2012 Olympic bronze medallist and Polish fan-favourite Damian Janikowski, but the finish was clouded with uncertainty.
Breese superbly timed Janikowski’s takedown and locked up an arm-in guillotine that appeared to have Janikowski trapped and unable to escape. After the hold had been applied for a short while, the referee checked Janikowski’s status and, despite a thumbs-up, the Pole either tapped, or slapped Breese’s back in an attempt to re-establish his grip with his other hand. The official read that move as a legitimate tap and waved off the fight.
Janikowski was livid, and let his opinions be known inside the cage, while Breese stated that he wasn’t sure what was going on, but that he had felt two taps of some kind. But the Brit immediately said that, to eliminate any controversy, the pair could have a rematch to settle things.
Regardless of Janikowski’s protestations, which continued long after the official verdict was announced, the record will reflect a win for Breese and a defeat for Janikowski. However, a rematch looks like a near-certainty.
In the night’s other featured heavyweight bout, Darko Stosic picked up a second-round knockout win over Michal Kita to keep himself in the championship mix. Stosic started slowly and appeared to be struggling with Kita’s come-forward fighting style throughout a tough opening round.
But in the second, Stosic finally made the breakthrough as he clipped Kita with an overhand left that sent the big veteran to the canvas. Stosic followed him to the mat and put him unconscious with a flurry of hammerfists to claim a decisive finish.
The event also saw the promotion debut of Norway’s former UFC welterweight Emil Meek, who snapped a six-year, four-fight skid with a second-round TKO finish of Poland’s Kacper Koziorzebski.
KSW 74: Official Results
MAIN CARD
- Phil De Fries def. Ricardo Prasel via submission (short choke) – Round 1, 4:11
- Tom Breese def. Damian Janikowski via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 1:55
- Darko Stosic def. Michal Kita via knockout (hammerfists) – Round 2, 2:54
- Tomasz Romanowski def. Cezary Kesik via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:54
- Werlleson Martins def. Pawel Politylo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Emil Meek def. Kacper Koziorzebski via TKO (elbows) – Round 2, 2:01
- Sofiia Bagishvili def. Anita Bekus via technical submission (scarfhold armlock) – Round 2, 1:47
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Wojciech Kazieczko def. Eduard Demenko via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
- Borys Dzikowski def. Arkadiusz Mruk via knockout (head kick and punches) – Round 1, 0:40
