Officially, Damian Grabowski remains unbeaten, but his latest win again Michal Kita was not as clear cut at Beast of the East “Grabowski vs. Kita” on Saturday at the Gdynia Sports Hall in Gdynia, Poland.
When Kita rose, he revealed a cut under his right eyebrow that was severe enough for the doctor to call the fight 3:25 into round one. The wound was the result of Grabowski’s upkick, but it appeared to have been aggravated once Kita fell out of the ring. Kita’s team was considering appealing to the promoters to have the fight result changed to a no contest.
Meanwhile, Maciej Jewtuszko claimed his second Lithuanian victim in little more than a month, as he submitted Edvardas Norkeliunas with a heel hook 3:42 into the first period.
Norkeliunas was far from a pushover, as he beat the Pole to the punch and transitioned to a triangle choke when taken down. Jewtuszko slammed his way out of the Lituanian’s grip and, after a scramble, postured up and rained down ground-and-pound. He then attacked the leg, capitalizing on Norkeliunas’ lapse in defense to secure the fight-winning heel hook.
Finally, Robert Jocz submitted Karolis Liukaitis, a late replacement for Englishman James Zikic, with a second-round armbar. The end came 2:41 into round two.
Liukaitis had nothing to lose and fought with that in mind, throwing all his strikes with power. Jocz obliged his rival with an early stand-up battle, though he took the fight to the ground for a brief time in the first round. The second period saw more action on the floor. The finish came when Jocz failed to lock in a guillotine choke and wound up on his back with Liukaitis in his guard. Jocz maneuvered for an armbar and quickly solicited the tapout.
Other Bouts
Hans Stringer def. Michal Fijalka -- Technical Submission (Kimura) 1:51 R1
Dion Staring def. Dawid Baziak -- Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) 2:14 R1
Marcin Gulas def. Edwin Raczynski -- Unanimous Decision
Grzegorz Truszkowski def. Danny Verhoeven -- Unanimous Decision