Almost a decade removed from their first meeting, former KSW middleweight champion Michal Materla claimed victory over his old adversary Kendall Grove at KSW 78.
The Netto Arena in Szczecin, Poland played host to the matchup, which saw the pair run back their bloodbath of their middleweight title fight from KSW 23 – a bout Materla won by unanimous decision.
The judges weren't required in the rematch, however, as Materla hurt Grove, then finished him on the mat with vicious elbows to claim the second-round TKO finish.
It meant Materla bounced back into the win column after his knockout loss to Mariusz Pudzianowski in a heavyweight clash in May 2022.
The co-main event served up a cracker of a clash, as middleweights Tomasz Romanowski and Radoslaw Paczuski went back and forth for 15 wild minutes in a bout that left the judges split on the identity of the victor. Eventually it was confirmed that Romanowski had edged the split decision verdict, with scores of 29-28, 28-29, 29-28.
There were also important victories on the night for lightweight Roman Szymanski, who submitted Raul Tutarauli via first-round armbar, and Valeriu Mircea, who knocked out former champion Borys Mankowski.
KSW 78: Official results
- Michal Materla def. Kendall Grove via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:27
- Tomasz Romanowski def. Radoslaw Paczuski via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Roman Szymanski def. Raul Tutarauli via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 1:05
- Valeriu Mircea def. Borys Mankowski via knockout (flying knee and punches) – Round 1, 4:22
- Kleber Raimundo Silva def. Lukasz Sudolski via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 0:40
- Rafal Kijanczuk def. Marc Doussis via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:03
- Lukasz Rajewski def. Sahil Siraj via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 4:05
- Oskar Szczepaniak def. Raimondas Krilavicius via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Borys Dzikowski def. Andre Langen via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
