Poland’s GROMDA promotion celebrated its sixth anniversary with an entertaining night of bare knuckle action last weekend. The event streamed live on gromda.tv to a worldwide pay-per-view audience.
Lukasz “Ruszki” Ruszkiewicz def. Damian “Goral” Gorski- KO Round 3
Ruszkiewicz got the better of the action against veteran Gorski before the fight ended in round three.
“Ruszki” dropped Gorski with a right in round two, and had success catching him as he came forward.
Late in round three, Gorski dropped to a knee and took the count after what seemed to be a wrist or arm injury.
Nitro 82 kg Tournament Semifinals
Lucas Sauer (Germany) def. Maksym Pilarski-TKO Round 1
Pilarski knocked Sauer down but the German wasn’t badly hurt and caught Pilarski with a strong right later in the round.
Pilarski injured his hand and the referee gave an eight count. Late in round one, Sauer had Pilarski on the ropes. Between rounds, the fight was stopped because of Pilarski’s hand injury.
Bartlomiej “Macu” Mac def. Pierre “Deutsch” Civet-TKO Round 1
Macu was too much for Civet. He scored an early knockdown with a right hand, and continued his aggression. He ripped shots to head and body with Civet on the ropes. Civet covered up and slumped on the ropes.. The referee counted and the fight was stopped.
Ramzan “Baki” Magamaev def. Mateusz “Desperado” Barszczak-TKO Round 4
There’s no harder man in bare knuckle than Mateusz Barszczak.
The ironheaded Pole seemingly went down a dozen times at the capable hands of skilled young Poland-based Chechen Magamaev, before his corner mercifully threw in the towel with around 25 seconds left in round 4.
Magamaev dropped Barszczak in the first with a beaut of a counter left. The knockdowns rained down from there like dollar bills at titty bar closing time
Veteran combat sports commentator Daniel Austin, the English language voice of GROMDA, likened Barscziak’s head “to a cinderblock”. Austin, like many viewers, pondered why it took so long for Barszczak’s corner to intervene.
Ziemowit Zgolinski def. Alfonso Diaz (Spain)- KO Round 2
Zgolinski may have earned KO of the night with a beautiful right hand that dropped and stopped Spanish visitor Diaz in the second stanza.
The courageous Diaz made it to his feet but the referee didn’t like what he saw in Diazs’ eyes and waved the bout off.
Superfights
Dawid “Pitbull” Puszczewicz def. Kamil “Majster” Pawlas-KO Round 2
Puszczewicz rode out the early storm with blocks, counters and clinches then dropped the hulking Pawlas late in round one before closing the show in round two.
Damian “Kiwi” Kiwior def. Maksym “Kozak” Prylipko-KO Round 1
Kiwi, outweighed by 22 kg (48 ½ lbs), was cut on the forehead during an early exchange, and the bigger Prylipko banged the body in the clinch.
Kiwi landed a good right hand and followed with a left hook. With Kozak on the ropes, Kiwi jabbed to the body and Kozak ducked to get under the right hand. Kiwi landed what looked like a right wrist to Kozak’s neck. Kozak dropped to his knees and grabbed the back of his head as the ref counted. It appeared the blow was illegal.
Tournament Semifinals
Bartlomiej “Macu” Mac def. Ramzan “Baki” Magamaev-TKO Round 5
The first tournament semifinal was the first fight to go to an extra round. All Gromda bouts are 4 2-minute rounds, with a fifth overtime round with no time limit. A fighter must win by KO, TKO, surrender, or disqualification. There are no judges decisions.
The 19-year-old Baki snapped Macu’s head back early and fought off the back foot. Macu’s pressure paid dividends in round two, as he knocked his foe down with a left late in the stanza.
In rounds three and four, Macu continued to wear Baki down, and the youngster went down on a few occasions. Macu knocked Baki down again in the overtime round and the fight was stopped.
Mateusz “Dziki” Hoffman def. Ziemowit “Ziemet” Zgolinski- TKO Round 4
Dziki replaced Sauer in the tournament and was outboxed early as the taller Ziemet controlled distance with his jab.
Dziki took control in round three when he stunned Ziemet, who got on his bicycle and was counted. Dziki continued his attack and dropped Ziemet twice more in the round.
Early in round four, Ziemet stunned Dziki and it looked like he was a punch or two away from victory as Dziki covered up. But Dziki soon connected with a big left that ended the fight.
Superfights
Kamil “Arni” Heberlein def. Brad “Dynamite” Donovan (UK)-KO Round 1
Heberlein caught Donovan with a right hook early that dropped the Brit. Donovan got up and traded with Arni but was knocked down repeatedly. An Arni right dropped Donovan for the count late in round one.
Marcin “Wasyl” Wasilewski def. Tyrone “Bad to the Bone” Eliffe-TKO Round 5
Commentator Austin mentioned Eliffe did a lot of trash talking to Wasilewski in the leadup.
Wasyl made the big man eat his words, winning by stoppage in the overtime round.
Wasyl pressured the taller Eliffe, listed at 204 cm (6 foot 8 inches) tall. The Polish fighter found a home for his overhand right as Eliffe tried to keep distance. Wasyl had the edge through three but Eliffe did some good work in the fourth.
Suddenly in the fifth, Eliffe motioned to the ref like he couldn’t continue, and turned away to take a knee. Wasyl saw the free shot and landed a left hook. The ref waved off the fight with Eliffe on the canvas. Commentator Austin mentioned Eliffe’s ear looked in bad shape. Eliffe congratulated Wasyl after the bout, and continued giving everyone the middle finger.
Macu Wins Gromda Nitro Tournament
Macu was crowned the tournament champ and given a trophy after Dziki was unable to continue on after his semifinal win over Zgolinski.
Sebastian “Scarface” Skiermanski def. Volodymyr Skurtu-KO Round 1
Cheered on by a large cheering section, Gromda fan favourite Skiermanski laid out Ukraine’s Skurtu with a big right hand in the first round.
Mateusz “Ziomus” Ziomek def. Maciej “Luta” Grzegorzewski-KO Round 5
In an incredible fight, Mateusz “Ziomus” Ziomek rose from multiple knockdowns and won the Gromda Nitro title in a match that featured a 15-minute extra round.
Luta dropped Ziomus seconds into the bout with a right hand after Ziomus rushed him. Luta scored another knockdown in round two.
Ziomus got back into the fight in rounds three and four. Both men’s faces showed the effects of the battle.
The fifth and final round was long and brutal and lasted around 15 minutes. Luta knocked Ziomus down again and there were some great back and forth exchanges.
Zimous connected with a right that dropped the bloodied Luta, who shook his head as the referee counted him out.
It was a true war of attrition, and Ziomus’s self-belief and perseverance led him to victory in a grueling and memorable battle.
