The former World’s Strongest Man put some of that strength on showcase Saturday in Poland.
Mariusz Pudzianowski (17-7) took out Michal Materla (31-9) in the first round with a nasty knockout that stemmed from a right uppercut. A follow-up shot on the canvas was academic, and may have contributed to an extended time on the canvas for Materla, who needed several minutes before he was back to his feet.
The heavyweight fight headlined KSW 70 at Atlas Arena in Lodz, Poland. The win for Pudzianowski was his fifth straight, all of which have come by knockout. He weighed in at 256 pounds against Materla, a former middleweight who was 222.
Pudzianowski swung early and missed, and Materla followed quickly after. Just 20 seconds in, Pudzianowski landed big and had Materla starting to fall backward. But after a quick clinch, Pudzianowski let Materla reocver.
Materla got a brief break for a low blow, and on the restart Pudzianowski kicked his lead leg. A Materla punch briefly wobbled Pudzianowski, but just a couple seconds later, the fight was over in less than two minutes.
Pudzianowski drilled Materla with a right uppercut and he fell to the canvas seemingly in slow motion. A second after his head hit the mat, Pudzianowski was on him with one final hammerfist before the ref could step in.
PUDZIANOWSKI!!!!
KNOCKOUT!!!!! #KSW70 pic.twitter.com/m2hlJZ9VrW
— KSW (@KSW_MMA) May 28, 2022
After the initial excitement from the crowd, the arena grew mostly quiet when Materla remained on the canvas, surrounded by medical personnel. Finally, after several minutes, Materla got back to his feet to polite applause from the fans.
