De Fries Nullifies Narkun, Ziolkowski Submits Kazieczko at KSW 60

The heavyweight champion @phildefriesmma retains his title!! Becomes the first person to finish Tomasz Narkun in KSW!! #KSW60 pic.twitter.com/kkxsN3mnFU

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) April 24, 2021

Two reigning champions notched title defenses in the latest event held by Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki.

The KSW 60 main event saw heavyweight champion Phil De Fries (20-6) stop 205-pound titleholder Tomasz Narkun (18-4) in a clash for the heavyweight crown. The pair already met at KSW 47, where the Ultimate Fighting Championship vet outwrestled “Giraffe.” The rematch started with a flying knee attempt from Narkun, who missed the target but recomposed for a short exchange on the feet. Wanting to prove that he made some adjustments after their first clash, “Giraffe” shot for a successful takedown. A scramble phase followed before Narkun went for a kneebar. De Fries fought out of the submission attempt and ended on top of Narkun, ultimately forcing his opponent to carry his weight for the round.

The wrestling exchanges took their toll on Narkun, who looked fatigued at the beginning of the second frame. After missing some wide swings, “Giraffe” was taken down by De Fries with ease. The Englishman sat on the chest of his opponent as he unloaded shots of ground-and-pound. De Fries moved to isolate one of his opponent’s arms and kept punching. Even though the shots didn’t look very hard, they accumulated as time passed. After many unanswered shots, the referee stopped the action at the 3:37 mark of Round 2, sealing one of the most dominant performances ever by De Fries.

In the co-main event, 155-pound kingpin Marian Ziolkowski (23-8-1) shattered the championship dreams of Maciej Kazieczko (7-2). “The Golden Boy” took most of the opening stanza to study the challenger, testing his reaction with jabs and low kicks. Kazieczko looked to shorten the distance, but he was often met by Ziolkowski’s jab for his efforts. Midway through the frame, “The Golden Boy” landed a powerful right hand that shook Kazieczko, who recovered from the shot but couldn’t offer any real danger to the defending champion.

A much more finishing-focused Ziolkowski came out of his corner at the beginning of the second round. After avoiding some boxing combinations from Kazieczko, “The Golden Boy” resorted to his jab once again before dropping Kazieczko with another flashy right hand. The champion looked to finish the fight, but his opponent recovered from the shot and got back to his feet. Kazieczko attempted a last foray, but Ziolkowski shrugged the flurry off with ease before dropping his opponent for a second time with a right hand. “The Golden Boy” then took mount and unleashed some shots that forced Kazieczko to give up his back to escape from the danger. Sensing that the end was near, Ziolkowski put the hooks in and went for a rear-naked choke, forcing Kazieczko to tap after a few seconds. The official end came 4:24 into the second frame.

Elsewhere, heavyweight Marek Samociuk (3-1) scored an unexpected comeback after stopping an exhausted Izu Ugonoh (1-1) with punches after a mere 27 seconds in the second stanza.

Earlier on the card, Patryk Kaczmarczyk (7-0) upended Michal Sobiech (4-1) via unanimous decision in a 145-pound clash; Aleksandar Ilic (13-4) dropped Adrian Dudek (5-2) with a short left punch before finishing him with a series of hammerfists at the 3:44 mark at Round 1 at middleweight; featherweight contender Vojto Barborik (13-1) tapped Krzysztof Klaczek (12-7) with a rear-naked choke after 2:30 in the second frame; Karolina Wojcik (8-2) did enough to take home a decision at the expense of Aleksandra Rola (3-2) at the end of their 115-pound encounter; Ion Surdu (11-3) rendered Kacper Koziorzebski (7-4) unconscious thanks to a lethal left head kick that ended the 176-pound catchweight bout 2:19 in the opening stanza and Jakub Wiklacz (11-3-1) defeated Patryk Surdyn (5-2) via unanimous decision at bantamweight.