Adrian Bartosinski Clubs Artur Szczepaniak to Capture Welterweight Title at KSW 81

WOOOW!!! Knockout!!! 💣

🇵🇱 @bartos_mma 👑 becomes the new KSW welterweight champion!! XTB #KSW81 pic.twitter.com/wJSYCYxunz

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) April 22, 2023

The Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki 170-pound division has a new kingpin in Adrian Bartosinski.

The vacant welterweight championship was on the line in the KSW 81 headliner, where Bartosinski (13-0, 5-0 KSW) smote Artur Szczepaniak (9-2, 2-1 KSW) in the opening frame. “Bartos” studied his foe for a few seconds before landing a perfectly-timed takedown, but Szczepaniak rose to his feet quickly and kept grappling for a while against the fence before the pair disengaged. Szczepaniak looked eager to catch Bartosinski, only to be met by a hefty left hook directly on the chin. The strike was effective and dropped Szczepaniak on the canvas instantly, in addition to making his mouthpiece fly across the cage. Bartosinski followed up with a Dan Henderson-esque standing-to-ground punch before referee Lukasz Bosacki jumped in to prevent further damage. The official time was 1:47 of Round 1. In victory, Bartosinski joins the likes of former champs Roberto Soldic, Dricus Du Plessis and Borys Mankowski as KSW welterweight titleholders.

The Bonecrusher does it!! ☠️

Kickboxing legend 🇳🇱 Errol Zimmerman wins his first MMA fight!! XTB #KSW81 pic.twitter.com/U4fdwt44lK

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) April 22, 2023

In the co-headliner, kickboxing veterans Tomasz Sarara and Errol Zimmerman clashed in a heavyweight encounter. Sarara (1-2, 1-2 KSW) landed a spinning backfist out of the gate that rocked Glory Kickboxing alum Zimmerman (1-1, 1-0 KSW), who managed to survive a subsequent barrage of punches from his foe. The Polish fighter looked much better than his opponent in the opening frame, displaying effective command on the feet. In the second period, Zimmerman felt the urge to wage war and dropped his adversary with a heavy punching combination. In the agitated exchanges that followed, Sarara and Zimmerman went toe-to-toe on the canvas, with both fighters gaining a dominant position before losing it in a scramble. Sarara captured his foe’s back and unloaded several shots before Zimmerman escaped. Sarara almost finished “Bonecrusher” with an arm-triangle choke, but Zimmerman resisted and bounced back on the feet after a scramble. The end of the fight came after Zimmerman clipped his foe with a two-piece combo before forcing the referee to stop the action after several top-to-bottom punches. Sarara’s subsequent claims that he was still in the fight were futile, as the fight was officially stopped at 3:53 of Round 2.

INSANE KNEE KNOCKOUT!! 🤯

🇧🇷 Werlleson Martins 👏 XTB #KSW81 pic.twitter.com/jHjTdMSL2M

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) April 22, 2023

Elsewhere, Silesian Cage Club representative Igor Michaliszyn (10-2, 2-0 KSW) smashed Krystian Bielski (9-5, 1-1 KSW) with elbows from the crucifix position at welterweight; 135-pounder Werlleson Martins Ribeiro (18-5, 2-1 KSW) annihilated Patryk Surdyn (7-3, 2-3 KSW) with a highlight-reel knockout thanks to a perfectly timed knee to the head while his opponent was diving for a takedown; Adrianna Kreft (5-0, 2-0 KSW) overcame Karolina Owczarz (5-3, 5-3 KSW) with an arm-triangle choke submission 73 seconds out of the gate in their women’s flyweight clash; 170-pounder Marcin Krakowiak (12-4, 4-3 KSW) outclassed Fantom MMA representative Henry Fadipe (13-10-1, 1-1 KSW) en route to a unanimous decision victory (29-28, 30-27, 29-28); Strife alum Kamil Gawryjolek (4-0, 2-0 KSW) crushed Olegs Jemeljanovs (11-4, 0-1 KSW) with punches with 30 seconds left in the opening stanza in their heavyweight tilt; Dana White's Contender Series vet Maria Silva (9-1, 1-0 KSW) choked out Sofiia Bagishvili (6-3, 1-1 KSW) with a rear-naked choke at 3:15 of Round 2 in a 115-pound clash; heavyweight knockout artist Filip Stawowy (10-3, 1-1 KSW) went out of his comfort zone to submit Marek Samociuk (4-4, 2-3 KSW) via rear-naked choke at 4:39 of Round 2; Josef Stummer (3-0, 1-0 KSW) defeated karate specialist Jonatan Kujawa (1-1, 0-1 KSW) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) in a featherweight clash.