Serbian heavyweight contender Darko Stosic delivered a knockout performance at KSW 87 to push himself forward for a heavyweight title rematch with Phil De Fries.
Stosic knocked out Czech contender Michal Martinek just 124 seconds into their heavyweight headliner in Trinec, Czech Republic, to improve his career record to 19-6, including a 6-1 record under the KSW banner.
That sole defeat inside the KSW cage came in a 2022 title fight against De Fries, who dominated him en route to a fifth-round stoppage.
Since that defeat, Stosic has regrouped and, bar a first-round loss to Shamil Gaziev at Brave CF 69, has been in good form. His three subsequent performances in the KSW cage saw him claim inside-the-distance wins due to strikes, as he defeated Michal Kita, Stefan Vojcak and, at KSW 87, Martinek, to put himself back in the title mix.
The co-main event saw Czech striker Leo Brichta continue his winning form with a third-round TKO finish of Poland's Roman Szymanski in their lightweight bout, while Polish light heavyweight Rafal Haratyk needed less than a round to claim victory against Croatia's Ivan Erslan.
The main card also saw Ukrainian bantamweight Oleksii Polischuk earn a first-round submission win with a triangle armbar of Czech Filip Macek, while Sweden's Sahil Siraj kicked off the main card in spectacular fashion with a stunning first-round knockout of Slovakia's Ahmed Abdulkadirov in their 159-pound catchweight contest.
KSW 87: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Darko Stosic def. Michal Martinek via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 2:04
- Leo Brichta def. Roman Szymanski via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 4:15
- Rafal Haratyk def. Ivan Erslan via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:21
- Oleksii Polischuck def. Filip Macek via submission (triangle armbar) – Round 1, 4:06
- Michal Dreczkowski def. Vojtech Garba via unanimous decision
- Adrian Dudek def. Lukas Dvorak via unanimous decision
- Sahil Siraj def. Ahmen Abdulkadirov via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:16
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Dawid Kareta def. Josef Stummer via TKO (knees) – Round 1, 4:10
- Tobiasz Le def. Carl McNally via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:52
