Impressive finishes and a dash of controversy were the big takeaways from KSW 76, as the Polish promotion served up another action-packed night of fights from Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Poland.
The headline bout of the evening saw featherweight champion Salahdine Parnasse become a two-weight champ as he claimed the vacant KSW interim lightweight title with a fourth-round rear-naked choke submission of Polish contender Sebastian Rajewski.
Parnasse’s victory extended his winning streak to four as he rebounded from his title-losing defeat to Daniel Torres in January 2021. He defeated Torres in the rematch last December to reclaim the featherweight strap, then defended it against Daniel Rutkowski at KSW 68 in March. His win at KSW 76 gave him a hat-trick of championship bout victories as he became a two-division champion in style.
The co-main event saw Adrian Bartosinski pick up a first-round TKO finish as the welterweight contender finished rival Krystian Kazubowski with a buzzer-beating stoppage at the end of the first round.
If that finish was straightforward, the middleweight bout between Pawel Pawlak and Tom Breese was anything but. Breese looked comfortable in the early exchanges as he worked smartly behind a ramrod southpaw jab, but when he switched to his grappling in search of a finish, one slip led to the end of the fight.
Breese attempted to jump for a guillotine, but fell off and landed on the canvas, and Pawlak immediately followed him to the mat. Breese fought back to his feet, but was hit hard by an elbow that appeared to connect hard to the back of the Brit’s head. With the illegal strike unseen by the official, the action continued, as a dazed Breese went down and was finished by a salvo of unanswered ground strikes.
After the fight was waved off, an incensed Breese protested to the referee, then attempted to storm out of the cage before officials and his corner team convinced him to return for the official verdict.
Earlier in the evening, the main card kicked off with a little piece of history, as Henry Fadipe submitted Albert Odzimkowski with the first Peruvian necktie in KSW history.
KSW 76: Official Results
MAIN CARD
- Salahdine Parnasse def. Sebastian Rajewski via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 4, 2:21 – for interim lightweight title
- Adrian Bartosinski def. Krystian Kaszubowski via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:58
- Pawel Pawlak def. Tom Breese via TKO (ground strikes) – Round 1, 3:54
- Artur Szczepaniak def. Brian Hooi via knockout (head kick) – Round 1
- Maciej Kazieczko def. Francisco Barrio via knockout (punch) – Round 3, 3:20
- Zuriko Jojua def. Antun Racic via unanimous decision
- Henry Fadipe def. Albert Odzimkowski via submission (Peruvian necktie) – Round 2, 0:39
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Valeriu Mircea def. Gracjan Szadzinski via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 1:39
- Kamil Gawryjolek def. Marek Samociuk via TKO (ground strikes) – Round 1, 4:37
