The underdog Damian Stasiak pushed the favorite Robert Ruchala to the limit in the KSW 75 main event, but ultimately he couldn’t pull the upset.
Ruchala (8-0) and Stasiak (13-9) went tit-for-tat over the course of three rounds of featherweight competition in Friday’s headliner in Nowy Sacz, Poland. The judges made the call in the end, though, and two of three thought Ruchala did the better work as he got 28-29, 29-28 and 29-28 scorecards.
At 24, Ruchala came into KSW 75 with an undefeated record that included three finishes. Stasiak, a 32-year-old veteran who fought for the six times, offered the youngster a test out of the gate.
Stasiak struck well with Ruchala on the feet and had some nice grappling moments on the mat. His conditioning weakened down the stretch of a high-paced contest, however, and Ruchala was able to get in some late work to likely sway the judges.
Ruchala made it 5-0 under the KSW banner with his victory, and afterward he set his sights on a showdown with current 145-pound titleholder Salahdine Parnasse.
“(That was a) classic fight,” Ruchala said in his post-fight interview. “He had excellent fitness full of energy and beams. … How about a chance (for a title) with my sixth victory in a row?”
- Robert Ruchala def. Damian Stasiak via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Daniel Omielanczuk def. Michal Martinek via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 28-29)
- Luis henrique da Silva def. Tomasz Narkun via knockout (front kick) – Round 2, 0:28
- Adam Soldaev def. Oleksii Polishchuk via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Madalin Pirvulescu def. Adam Tomasik via TKO (punches) – Round 1
- Yann Liasse vs. Adrian Gralak declared a no-contest (accidental eye poke) – Round 1, 2:38
- Kamil Szkaradek def. David Martinik via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Adrianna Kreft def. Petra Castkova via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
