KSW went down Sunday in Dublin, Ireland, heading out of town while the UFC stormed Poland. The perfectly timed counter-programming seemed to work, as the crowd in attendance was hot on Sunday.
At KSW 40 in Dublin, Ireland, on Sunday, former strongman Mariusz Pudzianowski took on short notice (really short notice – about twenty-four hours) replacement Jay Silva in the evening’s main event. Silva stepped in to replace James McSweeny after Ireland’s Safe MMA organization prevented McSweeny from competing due to concerns over statements he’d made regarding suffering from epilepsy.
The promotion, defiant, stated that they did not feel there were any health issues, but acknowledged that McSweeny had made the statements. As a result, they pulled McSweeny, but stated he would fight at an event in Poland at a later date.
As a result, Silva (10–11–1), who the promotion had brought in as a backup roughly a week earlier, got the nod. The former UFC and Bellator MMA fighter has traditionally competed at middleweight, and was making a big jump up in weight for Sunday’s event. That said, surprisingly, he didn’t seem entirely undersized in the cage, though Pudzianowski was clearly the larger man.
The end result was a spirited three round fight that saw both men get off plenty of offense early, before control of the fight shifted to the Polish star. Pudzianowski and Silva both exchanged low kicks in the opening seconds, while the crowd in attendance chanted for “Pudz.” No doubt hoping for a typical fast, crushing knockout for the big man, they were instead treated to a more measured approach from Pudz, though the action at times threatened to devolve into a brawl. Early on, Pudzianowski took to chasing after Silva following exchanges on the feet, and eventually pinned him against the cage. There, he began to look for a trip/takedown. When he finally did get Silva to the mat, Silva would give up his back, but the hulking Polish fighter was unable to find a submission, nor do enough damage to finish the fight while on Silva’s back with hooks in.
Silva would survive the round, but as the fight wore on, “Pudz” was able to impose his will and take control of the bout, pressing Silva against the fence, taking him down, and working from the top. To his credit, Silva stuck it out, but ultimately, he was unable to overcome the big man. In the end, the judges saw it as a majority decision for Mariusz Pudzianowski, who improved to 12–5 (1 No Contest) with the win.
In other action, Norman Parke’s troubles in KSW continued, as his rematch against Mateusz Gamrot ended in a no contest due to an eye poke by the Polish fighter, which came after a low blow. In a heated confrontation with Gamrot’s corner, Parke was then suckerpunched by one of Gamrot’s cornermen.
Also on the card, KSW flyweight champ Ariane Lipski retained her women’s flyweight championship, submitting Mariana Morais in the first round. The bout marked her first title defense. “The Violence Queen” improved to 10-3.
KSW 40 Results:
Mariusz Pudzianowski def. Jay Silva by Majority Decision
Mateusz Gamrot (c) vs. Norman Parke ended in a No Contest (Accidental Eye Poke), Round 2
Michał Materla def. Paulo Thiago by TKO (Punches), Round 2, 0:50
Ariane Lipski (c) def. Mariana Morais by Submission (Rear Naked Choke), Round 1, 0:58 – For the KSW Women’s Flyweight Championship
David Zawada def. Maciej Jewtuszko by Unanimous Decision
Chris Fields def. Michał Fijałka by Unanimous Decision
Paul Redmond def. Łukasz Chlewicki by Split Decision
Paul Lawrence def. Konrad Iwanowski by Split Decision
Antun Račić def. Paweł Polityło by Split Decision
