KSW 62: Szymon Kolecki Obliterates Akop Szostak, Andrzej Grzebyk Gets Revenge

#KSW62 Statistics

Fights
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1st Round Stoppages
3 Round Wars
ction-Packed Event pic.twitter.com/Bax0xPKNaF

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) July 17, 2021

While there were plenty of mismatches and a lack of big names, KSW 62 delivered consistently exciting matches, including six first-round finishes as well as one of the craziest first rounds one will ever see.

In the main event, Olympic weightlifting gold medalist Szymon Kolecki (10-1, 4-0 KSW) continued his surprisingly successful mixed martial arts career, shellacking overmatched Akop Szostak (4-4, 0-2 KSW), who is perhaps best known for appearing on “Dancing with the Stars” in Poland, in a mere 47 seconds. Kolecki was a monster -1500 favorite and looked like it, walking forward and landing with punches at will. He paid little attention to defense and Szostak had a few partial connects, but it didn't remotely faze the Olympic champ. Kolecki ended matters with a vicious right uppercut. KSW clearly has big plans for Kolecki, but with him already being 39, age is a major factor. It will be interesting to see whether he faces another lesser opponent in his next outing, or a more dangerous foe.

In the co-main event, Andrzej Grzebyk (18-4, 2-1 KSW) got his revenge against 40 year-old Marius Zaromskis (23-10, 1-1 KSW), knocking him out halfway through the first round. Zaromskis, who has been entertaining audiences since the late 2000s, when he had a string of outstanding head kick knockouts in the Dream promotion, including one over MMA legend Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, had a shocking upset over Grzebyk in their first meeting at KSW 56 late last year. Grzebyk broke his leg in that fight after landing a kick, and after valiantly fighting on it for almost an entire round, was unable to continue. The rematch went very differently. Both men were cautious early, and Zaromskis looked quite good, landing several kicks. However, Grzebyk was waiting for his opportunity, and when he came forward with a flurry of punches, including a brutal right cross, Zaromskis was left unconscious staring up at the lights at the 2:11 mark.

Talented young prospect Adrian Bartosinski (11-0, 2-0 KSW) stayed unbeaten in a thrilling, if short match against Michal Michalski (9-5, 3-3 KSW), catching him with a neat overhand right, pelting him with follow-up straight punches and then pounding him out on the ground at 1:53 of the opening frame. The Polish promotion has high hopes for Bartosinski, who may already be close to a title shot.

Kickboxer Tomasz Sarara (1-0, 1-0 KSW) made his MMA debut against late replacement Filip Bradaric (5-4, 0-1 KSW), who took the fight on less than 48 hours’ notice. For the first two rounds, Bradaric dominated his opponent, taking Sarara down and battering him with ground-and-pound, with Sarara utterly gassed and simply looking to survive. In round 3, Bradaric was even more tired, and when Sarara improbably got mount against him, Bradaric tapped out due to sheer exhaustion at 1:51 of Round 3.

The showdown between former KSW featherweight champion Artur Sowinski (21-13, 12-9 KSW) and Sebastian Rajewski (11-6, 3-1 KSW) resulted in one of the most exciting opening periods in KSW history. Sowinski was doing well early, until a hard hook from Rajewski dropped him, with follow-up ground-and-pound almost finishing him. Sowinski recovered, and with 20 seconds left, he floored Rajewski with a powerful cross and almost ended it with his own ground-and-pound. Despite losing the round, Rajewski would rally in the next two stanzas, mixing up his punches and kicks beautifully, winning a split decision, with 2 of 3 judges seeing it for him 29-28.

In earlier action, 22 year-old Bruno Augusto dos Santos (10-2, 1-1 KSW) won a very hard-fought decision over Pawel Politylo (6-3, 3-3 KSW), where both men battled through exhaustion from the constant grappling. Highly regarded recent KSW signing Lom-Ali Eskiev (18-5, 1-0 KSW) thoroughly dominated Gilber Ordonez (8-3, 0-1 KSW) on the feet and on the ground before finishing him off with an arm triangle choke at 4:25 of Round 1. Marcin Krakowiak (11-3, 2-0 KSW) continues to impress in the organization, executing a gorgeous hip toss against Borys Borkowski (2-1, 0-1 KSW) 1:02 into the first round, resulting in a dislocated elbow for Borkowski, a cry of pain, and a tap-out. In the opening bout of the night, 24 year-old prospect David Martinik (5-2, 1-1 KSW) shined, out-striking veteran Lemmy Krusic (20-8, 0-2 KSW) on the feet before pounding him out on the ground 2:45 of the first stanza.