Moldova’s Valeriu Mircea Claims Interim Lightweight Title at KSW 91

WOW!! History made!! 🤩

🇲🇩 Valeriu Mircea submits Leo Brichta to become the first Moldovan champion in KSW history!!! #KSW91 pic.twitter.com/QxCF16Kx5h

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) February 17, 2024

Valeriu Mircea took Leo Brichta into deep waters and drowned the Prague native with a rear-naked choke in the fourth round of the KSW 91 main event Saturday at Home Credit Arena in Liberec, Czech Republic.

With the win, Mircea claimed the vacant interim Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki lightweight title and set up an eventual title unification showdown with champion Salahdine Parnasse. Mircea (30-8-1) notched his fourth straight win, but it didn’t come easy.

The fight opened up like a chess match, with Britcha holding the edge on the feet. Mircea’s guard was held low at Brichta (12-4) and routinely made him pay for it. To even the odds, Mircea took the fight to the ground and had his way.

Soon the fight became a battle of wills. Whenever the fight was on the ground, Mircea’s experience showed through. He nearly ended the fight in the second round with an arm triangle but was almost finished himself once the fight returned to the feet.

Heading into the championship rounds, it was still either man's fight, but once Mircea took Britcha’s back, he knew he couldn’t risk letting him get away. Mircea pounded away at Britcha’s guard until his prey was forced to shift his guard, exposing his neck. Mircea took advantage immediately and snatched the belt with a rear-naked choke at 2:40 of Round 4.

Fresh off the first loss of his career, Dominik Humburger had his hands full early against Adrian Dudek. The stocky, heavy-handed middleweight routinely got under Humburger and cracked the bigger man with shots upstairs. Hamburger, on the cusp of his second career defeat, rallied in the second round with a new gust of wind and staggered Dudek along the fence before stopping his man at 2:28 of Round 2.

Matus Juracek exploded onto the KSW scene with a first-round knockout of Henry Fadipe in welterweight action. Fadipe (14-12-1) is a skilled, slick striker, but he underestimated Juracek’s hand speed and paid dearly. Fadipe was reeling across the cage with one left hook before landing flat on his back. Juracek (11-3) pounced quickly and finished the fight at 4:00 of the opening stanza.

Kacper Koziorzebski ruined former undefeated welterweight Viktor Cervinsky’s perfect record by taking a unanimous decision (30- 27, 30-27, 30-27). Koziorzebski’s superior pace was too much for the young prospect and simply outworked him in the clinch along the fence. Cervinsky had his moments but Koziorzebski’s in-your-face style was something he wasn’t prepared for.

After two dominant rounds on the mat, Lukasz Charzewski was in danger of dropping his second straight fight after taking a vicious elbow from Michal Sobiech. Charzewski was in control for most of the 150-pound catchweight bout, but his eye was grotesquely swollen and the contest was in danger of being stopped.

Luckily for Charzewksi (13-2), his prayers were answered, and he was allowed to fight out the final five minutes. Going back to his bread and butter, the Pole grinded Sobiech out en route to a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Former Glory kickboxer Dawid Kasperski won his mixed martial arts debut on Saturday against a game Vasil Ducar by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Kasperski relied on his kickboxing background and hurt Ducar’s calves with slicing kicks. While that wasn’t a surprise, the 33-year-old’s wrestling was. Kasperski (1-0) maintained top control for most of the fight and mixed up his game well for a fighter in their first MMA bout. Ducar (3-3) was a sturdy opponent and wouldn’t go away, but Kasperski always found an answer.

Josef Stummer and Adrian Wieliczko’s featherweight feud was madness from the opening bell. Seconds into the fight, Wieliczko attacked with a heel hook that looked destined to give Stummer his second career loss. In the midst of defending the lock, Stummer accidentally gave up his back.

Wieliczko secured a python-like body lock on Stummer and clung to him like a backpack while Stummer survived the final two minutes of the round. It was a dominant first round for Wieliczko, but he burned himself out while forcing the rear-naked choke. In the second round, Stummer turned the tide and rocked Wieliczko repeatedly. Once the fight returned to the ground, there wasn’t much the exhausted Wieliczko could do to stop Stummer from locking in a fight-finishing triangle choke with 40 seconds left in the round.

KSW’s No. 10 ranked bantamweight Mariusz Joniak stormed back into the winner’s column with a first-round knockout over Tobiasz Le. Le (4-2) brought a two-fight win streak into the cage but left with the first knockout loss of his career after eating a haymaker of a right hand from Joniak (12-5) at 1:05 of the first round.

KSW 91 kicked off with a battle of youth and experience between 20-year-old flyweight Wiktoria Czyzewska and 42-year-old Petra Castkova. Czyzewska started fast and confused Castkova by switching between orthodox and southpaw. Czyzewska (3-1) landed multiple body and head combinations before putting the vet down for good 1:56 into the round with a body kick to the ribs.