Fight Facts: KSW 81 ‘Bartosinski vs. Szczepaniak’

WOOOW!!! Knockout!!!

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

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) April 22, 2023

Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and cage curiosities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers.

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TOTAL NUMBER OF KSW FIGHTS: 752
TOTAL NUMBER OF KSW EVENTS: 87

KSW cruised through the countryside and posted up in Tomaszow Mazowiecki to crown a new welterweight king. Finishes were fast and furious as fighters ripped through one another like tissue paper. KSW 81 featured an unbeaten Polish upstart that thrashed his way to gold, a speedy head-and-arm suffocation and a fighter that decided to nap rather than tap.

The Incredible Shrinking League: While the previous event, KSW 80, saw the promotion travel to its smallest Polish city on record – Lubin, with about 70,000 people – this event broke that diminutive tally. Around 63,450 individuals reside in Tomaszow Mazowiecki.

Bringing the Gold Back Home: Adrian Bartosinski claimed the vacant welterweight crown by torching Artur Szczepaniak in the first round. As a result, the 27-year-old became the second Polish fighter to win the KSW 170-pound belt – the first was Borys Mankowski back in 2014.

Not a Real Nickname: Bartosinski wrecked Szczepaniak in the opening frame to record his 12th stoppage win as a professional. “Bartos” is a perfect 13-0 with his victory, and now celebrates a 92% finish rate.

This Weird MMA Thing: Kickboxer Errol Zimmerman made his first-ever appearance in an MMA cage when he battled fellow neophyte Tomasz Sarara. “Bonecrusher,” in his first MMA appearance since 2008, finished Sarara with ground-and-pound.

Abbynormal: In the second frame, Igor Michaliszyn dispatched Krystian Bielski with elbow strikes. The welterweight earned his second such win in the KSW cage with elbows, making him the third man (Brian Hooi, Michal Michalski) to record multiple knockouts from these blows.

Live by the Sword, Die by the Sword: Just 12 seconds into the final round, Werlleson Martins Ribeiro smote Patryk Surdyn with an intercepting elbow to put his lights out. The Brazilian boosted his finish rate to 78% in victory.

Krefty Move: Now a perfect 5-0 by handling Karolina Owczarz via submission, Adrianna Kreft has notched three of those within two rounds. Her 73-second arm-triangle choke is the fastest of its kind in organizational history.

Vastly Prefers Stoppages: For the first time in Marcin Krakowiak’s 16-fight career, he needed three full rounds to record the win. Henry Fadipe lasted all 15 minutes against him.

What Heavyweights Do: With 30 seconds left in Round 1, Kamil Gawryjolek put Olegs Jemeljanovs down and out with a barrage of punches. “Maly” has competed four times as a pro, with four wins by first-round knockout to his credit.

Slumbering Sofiia: Performing her seventh stoppage across nine pro wins, Maria Silva put Sofiia Bagishvili to sleep with a rear-naked choke in the second stanza. She is the first female fighter in KSW history to render a foe unconscious with a choke.

Tank Controls: Knockout artist “The Tank” Filip Stawowy took out Marek Samociuk not with strikes, but a rear-naked choke towards the end of Round 2. The submission was the first of his career, with eight of his nine previous victories by knockout.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into KSW 81, Szczepaniak (10 fights) and Surdyn (nine fights) had never been knocked out, Owczarz had never been finished (seven fights) and Bagishvili (nine fights) and Samociuk (seven fights) had never been submitted.