Polastri was a sizeable favorite in the bout, despite the experience edge of Poland’s Kowalkiewicz, who had lost her last two bouts.

Kowalkiewicz pressed the action early, walking Brazil’s Polastri down. For her part, Polastri worked kicks and counters; both women were landing, but after about a minute. Polastri seemed to have hurt Kowalkiewicz with a right hand and a kick to the body. That saw her looking to turn up the pressure, but not for long as Kowalkiewicz quickly recovered. They settled back in, exchanging, with Kowalkiewicz firing a spinning back fist that missed, and motioning for a takedown only to pull up short on it. A moment later, Polastri would clinch up, firing knee after knee.

Round two saw Polastri the one walking forward to start, and soon, she was doubling up with her right hand and forcing Kowalkiewicz to retreat. A clinch, knees, and then a barrage of strikes followed. Kowalkiewicz stayed in it, but after likely losing the first round, she was trailing early in the second. Another flurry heavily favoring Julia Polastri followed. Again, Kowalkiewicz stayed in the fight, but she was being out-gunned badly.

Kowalkiewicz was retreating again in the third, circling backwards on the outside. Polastri was having success on the inside, with her uppercuts and right hands and knees. Kowalkiewicz fired another spinning back fist that Polastri ducked; the Brazilian responded with a head kick that rocked Kowalkiewicz! Polastri then poured on the offense, letting fly with lefts and rights, snapping Kowalkiewicz’s head back. She stayed standing but the ref didn’t like what he was seeing and waved it off!

Official Result: Julia Polastri def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz by TKO (head kick and punches), Round 3, 2:56

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Gomes had started her professional fighting career in 2017, the year after Kowalkiewicz had faced fellow Polish star Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the UFC’s 115lb title.

Early on, Gomes worked kicks, low and to the body, while Karolina struggled to counter or close the distance. Gomes feigned a spinning attack (or simply held up on it), and instead the pair traded kicks and single strikes. Near the midway mark, Gomes opened up, closing the distance, attacking, and adding a knee. She then clinched up, pursuing a takedown despite having the edge on the feet. Much of the remaining time would be spent grappling and battling for position.

Round two saw the pair find their way back to the fence, Gomes in control, again pursuing a takedown. She added knees, and looked to land a trip, but Kowalkiewicz was able to turn things around and get her back off the cage. Still, at range, she was out-gunned, with Gomes firing long, straight kicks and left/right hands, exploding forward. That led to Kowalkiewicz grabbing a body lock and going back to the fence, only to be reversed by Gomes.

The third round likely had Gomes up, with Karolina Kowalkiewicz in need of a finish. Instead, the pair clinched up again, at least for the first 90 seconds. At center, Kowalkiewicz found a bit of success, working her jab and even going to the body. She’d try to take the back later in the round, working to set up a submission to no avail. In the end, the scorecards offered zero surprises, with Denise Gomes claiming a unanimous decision victory.

Official Result: Denise Gomes def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

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Kowalkiewicz, who had faced Joanna Jedrzejczyk for gold in 2016, had once been on a five-fight slump, but in recent times had won four straight, a stunning return from being on the edge of retirement.

The Polish fighter, ranked #13 in the division, had plenty to contend with early from the unranked Lucindo, who landed a heavy blow early that appeared to damage the eye of Kowalkiewicz. Moments later, the pair would tie up following an exchange, with Lucindo trapping her opponent in a guillotine while firing knees. Kowalkiewicz had her back to the fence, and managed to pop her head free- though she still had to contend with more knees from Iasmin Lucindo, who appeared comfortable fighting along the fence.

The pair came off the cage with just over a minute left in the round, only for Lucindo to land a trip, moving straight into mount. 45 seconds remained on the clock; Kowalkiewicz looked to tie up Lucindo from bottom, and stalled the attack long enough to run out the clock.

Round two had Karolina Kowalkiewicz walking forward, only to be tagged with crisp counters by Lucindo. Kowalkiewicz’s own attacks didn’t seem to be making much of an impact, and on an exchange it was a Lucindo knee standing out. Lucindo was throwing punches in bunches, combinations spread out between the body and head. Her hands were the fast of the pair, leaving Kowalkiewicz at a considerable disadvantage by the midway mark of the fight. The rest of the round played out in similar fashion, with Kowalkiewicz unable to make much of an impact.

Lucindo took the fight to the fence early in round three, where she’d had much of her success early on. To be blunt, most of the fight had been a success for Iasmin Lucindo, who was well ahead in the bout. With just over two minutes remaining, she briefly climbed the back.

With one final flurry, Lucindo would close out the fight in control, the outcome and unanimous decision never in doubt. With the win, her third in the UFC, she’ll likely have a ranking early next week.

Official Result: Iasmin Lucindo def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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Belbita was coming off a big win at UFC 289, the promotion’s first event on Canadian soil since 2019. Looking to capitalize on that momentum, and with Karolina coming in on her own head of steam, the two got right to work on Saturday. Coming together in a clinch, they went to the ground, Kowalkiewicz coming out on top trying to flatten Belbita out. But Belbita was hip to the attempt, and managed to reverse before getting back to her feet.

Back at center, Belbita worked combinations, working in kicks. Kowalkiewicz clinched, doing her best work in close and forcing Diana Belbita to fend off a takedown. Kowalkiewicz fired an elbow off the break, but Belbita had remained upright, a small victory.

Later in the round, the pair traded across numerous exchanges, Kowalkiewicz getting the better of many. She would fire and miss with a spinning back fist, but just clipped her with another spinning attack in the dying seconds of the round. They went to the ground in a heap at the buzzer, not that it would matter.

Belbita landed a low kick early in round two, but had to fend off another takedown attempt by Kowalkiewicz. Showing some impressive balance, Belbita stayed upright, then landed a jab as the fighters reset. Kowalkiewicz answered with an uppercut. Belbita went to the body with a jab, but was having some trouble getting through Kowalkiewicz’s defenses. Kowalkiewicz, meanwhile, was finding more and more success with her jab. With about 90 seconds to go, they’d clinch up, with Belbita in control. That wouldn’t last, and in the final minute, the uppercut would again be there for Karolina Kowalkiewicz.

Mixing things up, however, Belbita caught Kowalkiewicz in a guillotine late in the round, and used it to land a throw, scoring her first takedown of the fight.

The pair went right to work again in round three, trading with Kowalkiewicz flashing a front kick at times. Belbita put a bit of power behind a kick, jumping into it. A clinch along the fence would again see Belbita fend off a takedown attempt; Kowalkiewicz backed off, then re-engaged, jabbed the body and landed a few shots as Belbita covered up.

The back-and-forth continued, with Kowalkiewicz getting the better of things. By the end of the round, Belbita was showing some damage by one eye. Kowalkiewicz would fire a spinning back kick, and the pair would trade right to the bell in an active, fun little strawweight scrap between two very game athletes. And while there might have been an argument for the first to go to Belbita, all three judges gave all three rounds to Karolina Kowalkiewicz.

Official Result: Karolina Kowalkiewicz def. Diana Belbita by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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The Fight Night card will see former 115lb title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz (15-7), on a bit of a career resurgence of late, taking on Canadian-based Romanian Diana Belbita (15-7). The event takes place October 7, 2023 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada — and yes, there will have been 80 of those Apex shows once the event rolls around.

News of the booking was revealed when the bout was recently added to the official line-up of UFC broadcast partner ESPN. Kowalkiewicz and Belbita both confirmed the match-up on social media.

Belbita was last in action at UFC 289 in Vancouver, picking up a decision victory over Maria Oliveira to snap a two-fight skid. The win was Belbita’s second in the UFC, improving her record to 2-3 overall.

Now 27, the Romanian joined the UFC in 2019, losing a decision to Molly McCann in her debut after having a point deducted for grabbing the cage.

Coincidentally sporting an identical 15-7 professional record to that of her opponent, Kowalkiewicz has won thee straight fights dating back to June of 2022. That run has put thoughts of a nasty five-fight skid well behind her, with the Polish strawweight looking reinvigorated of late.

In her last outing, Kowalkiewicz earned a unanimous decision over Vanessa Demopoulos.

UFC Vegas 80 on October 7, 2023 features a lightweight bout featuring Grant Dawson and Bobby Green as its main event. The following match-ups have been reported for the card to date:

• Grant Dawson vs. Bobby Green
• Joe Pyfer vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan
• Drew Dober vs. Ricky Glenn
• Alexander Hernandez vs. Bill Algeo
• Johnny Muñoz Jr. vs. Aori Qileng
• Kanako Murata vs. Vanessa Demopoulos
• Chris Gutiérrez vs. Montel Jackson
• Daniel Pineda vs. Khusein Askhabov
• Nate Maness vs. Mateus Mendonca
• Ion Cuțelaba vs.Philipe Lins
• Montana De La Rosa vs. Stephanie Egger
• Alex Morono vs. Joaquin Buckley
• Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Diana Belbita

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After dropping five straight fights from 2018 to 2021, it felt as if Kowalkiewicz (15-7) was on her way out of the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion. But starting last year and carrying on into 2023, the “Polish Princess” has turned things around, winning her last three fights.

Kowalkiewicz shed some insight on what has led to her newfound success in an exclusive interview with Cageside Press at this year’s UFC X.

“I changed my whole life. I changed my gym, I changed my country because I moved from Poland to Florida. Now I train at ATT, I moved one year ago.”

“At the beginning, it was a very hard decision to move there. But this is good for me. I love to train at ATT, I love to train with my coaches,” said Kowalkiewicz, rattling off some of the high-level trainers she’s able to work with at American Top Team. “I started everything from the beginning, and this is very, very good.”

Along with top coaches, Kowalkiewicz now has some top training partners and teammates at her new home. And she admits to being a little starstruck at first.

“This is Christmas every day. Christmas every day. This is great. At ATT, there are so many great fighters,” she stated. “At the beginning I was like ‘oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, I need to take pictures with him, I need to take pictures with her.’ And they’re my teammates. This is cool.”

In terms of a return, Kowalkiewicz’s next fight is TBD. “I don’t know, I’m waiting. I am ready. Maybe end of September, maybe October.”

Watch our full interview with Karolina Kowalkiewicz above.

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Unfortunately, “Lil Monster” had been a little over at the scales on Friday, coming in 1.5lbs heavy for the fight.

Kowalkiewicz got her combinations going early in Saturday’s preliminary card scrap, which resulted in Demopoulos shooting a takedown. That was stuffed, but Demopoulos would land a left hand that seemed to hurt Kowalkiewicz. Still, the Polish strawweight walked Demopoulos down, firing an overhand right, occasional kicks, and eventually closing the distance to look for a takedown of her own. Demopoulos fought off the attempt, but ate a couple of solid punches for her efforts.

Back at distance, Kowalkiewicz landed a solid right hand. They’d head to the second with Karolina clearly up.

Round two saw a similar approach from Kowalkiewicz, who was more often than not the fighter coming forward. Demopoulos was taking some big swings with her counters, but continued to have issues with distance management. Takedowns simply weren’t there for Demopoulos, who ripped a few high kicks that were blocked, and spent more time than she no doubt would have liked on her back foot. Towards the final minute, Kowalkiewicz landed a solid shot that backed Demopoulos up.

Round three saw the pair go to the ground early, but it was Demopoulos on the bottom. She was active, but Kowalkiewicz eventually locked her down. She stepped over into side control; Demopoulos rolled to her knees, but risked giving up her back. Eventually, Kowalkiewicz reclaimed guard; Kowalkiewicz would later back off, letting Demopoulos back to her feet.

By the end of the round, a bloodied Demopoulos had been thoroughly beaten. Karolina Kowalkiewicz, meanwhile, had her third straight win — her best streak since 2016, when she landed a fight with then-champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Official Result: Karolina Kowalkiewicz def. Vanessa Demopoulos by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

The post UFC Vegas 73: Karolina Kowalkiewicz Builds on Win Streak, Takes Decision Against Vanessa Demopoulos appeared first on Cageside Press.

Demopoulos (9-4) had a stellar 2022 campaign, one that saw her go 3-0 inside the octagon, earn a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus for her submission of Silvana Gomez Juarez, and win over a legion of new fans thanks to some upbeat post-fight interviews.

It hasn’t been entirely smooth sailing for “Lil Monster,” however, as a management snafu with the owner of her gym saw her pick up and move to Denver, where she now trains at Factory X.

“It was a really touch decision for me, I was having a lot of success, I loved my coaches,” Demopolous told Cageside Press about the move recently. “Now I’m opening up a new chapter over in Denver with Factory X, and I’m looking forward to the new adventures in the cage.”

With Denver’s elevation comes some obvious benefits. “The first week in Denver was a struggle, legitimately. But then after we got acclimated to the first week out there, I feel like everything’s been easy sailing. And I do feel a lot more confident in my cardio now than I ever have before, and I was already a cardio monster prior.”

Now, Demopoulos is looking forward to getting the step up in competition she’s been asking for, in the form of Kowalkiewicz.

“I’m very much looking forward to this fight. I’m very confident being able to have an opportunity like this to step up,” she stated. “I feel like I’ve been screaming from the mountaintops that I am ready for these types of opportunities, so I look forward to showcasing that in the cage on May 20.”

When we caught up with Demopoulos, she was getting set to teach a self-defense class to young girls at UFC Fit in Las Vegas. But when it comes to staying safe, the strawweight fighter stressed the importance of being proactive.

“I think the number one most important thing is being able to address the situation before it happens. Use your instinct, use your guide — if you feel like you’re in trouble, if you feel like something isn’t right, more than likely it’s not.”

“Don’t let things happen before you start to address it. Get ahead of the situation, remove yourself from the situation, and just try to avoid conflict if necessary.”

Watch our full interview with Vanessa Demopoulos above. Demopoulos returns to action on May 20, 2023 against Karolina Kowalkiewicz.

The post UFC: After “Screaming from the Mountaintops” Vanessa Demopoulos Has Opportunity She Was Seeking in Kowalkiewicz appeared first on Cageside Press.

A former LFA champ, Demopoulos (9-4) will face ex-title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz (14-7) at a UFC Fight Night event on May 20, 2023.

News of the booking was first reported by Meni Mayer, with a date of May 13. A source familiar with the situation confirmed to Cageside Press that the bout is in fact scheduled for the following week. Demopoulos also announced the May 20 date on social media.

Demopoulos had a stellar 2022 campaign, winning all three of her fights inside the octagon. She started the year with an arm-bar submission of Silvana Gomez Juarez, and followed that up with a split decision win over former Invicta champ Jinh Yu Frey. In November, “Lil Monster” returned to action, picking up a unanimous decision victory over Maria Oliveira.

Demopoulos is now 3-1 in the promotion after taking her debut fight on short notice, up a weight class. She’s turned heads with her upbeat personality and has become known for post-fight interviews that have seen her jump into the arms of Joe Rogan and Michael Bisping.

Kowalkiewicz likewise had a strong 2022, bringing about an end to the worst run of her fighting career. From 2018 to 2021, the Polish strawweight lost five straight fights and was seemingly on the cusp of her release from the UFC. However, in June, she sent Felice Herrig into retirement with a submission win over the TUF alum; Kowalkiewicz followed that up with a unanimous decision victory opposite Silvana Juarez Gomez at UFC 281 in November.

After starting her career 10-0, Kowalkiewicz challenged then-champ and countrywoman Joanna Jedrzejczyk for strawweight gold in November 2016.

The UFC’s May 20, 2023 card does not yet have a location, venue, or broadcast plan officially announced. No other fights have been reported for the Fight Night card as of yet.

The post UFC: Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz Set for May 20 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Former strawweight title challenger Kowalkiewicz righted the ship in her last fight, after a rough five fight skid. Her opponent at UFC 281 would be Entram Gym trainee Gomez Juarez, a striker known for her knockout power but a deficiency to grappling, having been armbarred in her first two UFC fights before scoring an impressive, eighty-two second knockout over Liang Na in her last fight.

Despite being the same age on paper as her opponent at thirty-seven years old, Kowalkiewicz was much older in fight years having fought in major promotions like KSW and Invicta starting in 2012 and in the UFC since 2015. The question was if that experience could win out against the hard hitting newcomer.

The athletes came out trading jabs, with Juarez being more active initially as she tried to draw Kowalkiewicz into the knockout shot. Kowalkiewicz began to use the front foot to push Juarez back. Karolina was then able to take her down off of a caught leg kick and immediately transition to the back with both hooks in, then switch to a body triangle. Juarez used the wrist control to avoid getting submitted as she tried to escape. She got to her knees but Kowalkiewicz stayed on the back expertly. The fence helped Juarez clear one hook momentarily but then Karolina got back on right away and snaked her forearm under Juarez’s chin as the Mexican fighter tried to stand up. Juarez was able to survive but was being thoroughly dominated. Finally, in the last minute, Juarez was able to clear both hooks and get to a knee but Karolina kept blanketing her. Pure explosion helped Silvana finally get back to her feet in the last twenty seconds of the round, which ended with Juarez landing a body punch. The round could easily be scored 10-8 for Kowalkiewicz.

Kowalkiewicz got immediately on the front foot again, pushing Juarez backwards as she had in the first round and making her opponent uncomfortable. Kowalkiewicz tried to use a blitzing combo into a takedown but Juarez was aware and pushed her away from her hips. Still, Silvana was getting hit and not landing her own shots very often. Finally, halfway through the round, she landed a big overhand right but it must have been discouraging to see Kowalkiewicz eat it with no issues. The pair traded combos back and forth as Karolina stalked Gomez-Juarez across the octagon constantly. Juarez was landing slightly more in the latter parts of the round but was still seemingly behind on the scorecards. A big knee in the collar tie from Kowalkiewicz landed to close out the round, although Silvana almost hit referee Mark Goddard in trying to get that one back as the bell rang.

The activity of Juarez was high to start the final round and she did not show any signs of slowing. Some big combos in the pocket landed after a minute from Juarez but Kowalkiewicz kept walking her down, undeterred by anything coming her way. A big right overhand may have stunned Karolina momentarily as she tried to clinch with Juarez, but the Pole recovered quickly. Silvana was beginning to occasionally target the body mid-combination and it seemed effective. Despite her corner calling for a takedown between rounds, Kowalkiewicz had showed no signs of shooting one in the third. Karolina Kowalkiewicz was able to bundle over Juarez with one minute left in the fight but as she tried to take the back Juarez was able to push her off, spring to her feet, and get back to striking distance. Karolina went for another collar tie late and landed some knees inside. The women swung big shots for the last ten seconds until the bell rang.

The fight got competitive in rounds two and three but when Juarez was put on her back in round three it may have appeared to the judges to be a knockdown, and round two was close but with perhaps an edge for Kowalkiewicz. There was some kerfuffle with the scorecards late as a commissioner came in and seemed to change the scores for the third round on the scorecards.

When the teacher says pencils down ✏️ #UFC281 pic.twitter.com/n4gx5nc2vL

— UFC (@ufc) November 13, 2022

The crowd, the commentary, and surely fans at home yelled out in confusion. The situation dragged on for another two minutes to the puzzlement of everyone. When the decision was finally read out by Bruce Buffer, all three judges had Karolina Kowalkiewicz winning the fight 29-28. The former title challenger broke down in tears as not that long ago she was on a five fight losing streak and her job was in question. But now, after moving to American Top Team when invited by fellow Polish legend Joanna Jędrzejczyk, she sits on a two fight winning streak at thirty-seven years old.

Official Result: Karolina Kowalkeiwicz def. Silvana Gomez Juarez by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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