Pudzianowski Demolishes Milanovic, Przybysz Claims Bantamweight Crown at KSW 59

Mariusz 'PUDZIAN' Pudzianowski! #KSW59 pic.twitter.com/gUcwrqLkbK

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) March 20, 2021

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki's main event underwent a last-minute change after Serigne Ousmane Dia suffered an acute appendicitis attack and had to be hospitalized ahead of Saturday’s card in Lodz, Poland.

The new KSW 59 headliner saw Mariusz Pudzianowski (14-7, 1 NC) taking on MMA debutant Nikola Milanovic (0-1) in the super heavyweight division. Milanovic took the fight on less than 24 hours notice, but he could do nothing to stop “Pudzian” from ending the contest in the opening frame. Milanovic attacked the legendary strongman with a couple of leg kicks as soon as the battle started, and Pudzianowski retaliated with a jab. The Serbian fighter rushed then to push his opponent against the cage, looking for a double-leg takedown.

While the takedown attempt likely would have been successful, “Pudzian” grabbed the fence to defend himself from going down. After escaping from danger and ending up on the back of Milanovic, Pudzianowski mauled his hapless opponent with punches. Referee Lukasz Bosacki intervened after noticing that the Serbian fighter wasn’t defending himself intelligently anymore at the 1:10 mark of the opening frame.

In the co-main event, Sebastian Przybysz (8-2) outpointed Antun Racic (25-9-1) to capture the bantamweight championship. The pair combined for a hard-fought contest where Przybysz made the most out of his longer reach. The Polish fighter maintained the center of the cage and scored with his combinations, while Racic did his best to keep the battle in close quarters. The first two stanzas saw Przybysz scoring with his jab and elbows. Midway through the third round, “Killer” dropped Przybysz with a perfectly timed left hook. The Polish fighter attempted to recover from the shot as Racic rushed to finish his opponent, but Przybysz managed to survive until the horn.

Przybysz recomposed himself entering the championship rounds, but Racic seemed to be the one scoring the most significant shots in the fourth stanza as well. Sensing the danger, Przybysz moved the action to the mat in the fifth and final round, landing a couple of takedowns and nearly taking his opponent’s back before the end of the contest. Ultimately, Przybysz garnered a unanimous decision victory with 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47 nods from the judges, avenging a previous loss to Rakic at KSW 46 in December 2018.

Elsewhere, Olympic bronze medalist Damian Janikowski (6-3) overcame Jason Radcliffe (16-8) thanks to a series of punches that halted the contest at the 4:41 mark in the second stanza of their middleweight encounter.

Earlier on the card, Michal Pietrzak (10-4) edged Krystian Kaszubowski (9-2) thanks to a narrow decision at the end of a welterweight clash; in the heavyweight division, Ultimate Fighting Championship vet Darko Stosic (14-4) snapped a three-bout skid by rendering Michal Wlodarek (8-3) unconscious with a right hand that stopped the contest at the 4:39 mark in Round 2; Lukasz Rajewski (11-6 1NC) upended Konrad Dyrschka (11-2) via unanimous decision at the end of their 155-pound clash and Adrian Bartosinski (10-0) smashed Lionel Padilla Suarez (8-2) with punches 4:05 mark into the third stanza of their welterweight encounter.

In the opening fights on the card, Sebastian Rajewski (10-6) outpointed Savo Lazic (10-6) at lightweight, while Patryk Likus (1-0) upended Cyprian Wieczorek (0-1) via unanimous decision in their 145-pound encounter.