The UFC’s first ever Fight Night event in Poland went down yesterday with a main event that saw Mirko “CroCop” Filipović recapture his magic for one night as he out-slugged rival Gabriel Gonzaga in the third round. CroCop used elbows in close to vanquish his rival after going back and forth over the fight, as both men won “Fight of the Night” bonuses.
For CroCop, it was a nice ending to his UFC return, and it avenged a loss almost 10 years ago to Gonzaga that set off his downward spiral from the top of the MMA heap.
But overall, the UFC card in Poland came across as a second-tier event, and that may not be good for the UFC in a market that is a hotbed for MMA and fighting in general. Most of the card was lackluster, and the Polish talent on the show did not fair all that well, leaving the knowledgeable live audience wondering where the good Polish fighters were? If you have seen the KSW events out of Poland, you know the audience is used to a terrific production value, and the UFC failed to bring the full show.
The biggest surprise of the night came in the women’s strawweight division as Ukrainian Maryna Moroz made short work of Joanne Calderwood, who entered the fight an overwhelming favorite. Moroz basically punched Calderwood in the face and then arm barred her, ending the fight in 90 seconds and ruining Calderwood’s potential showdown with strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzckyksk.
The co-main event between Jan Blackowicz and Jimi Manuwa was a bit too evenly matched, as the men relied mostly on clinching and controlling once they felt each other’s strength. In the end, the judges saw it for Manuwa, who pressed forward a little more and did get off a few more strikes.
One of the Polish fighters who did put on an impressive showing was Bartosz Fabinski, who issued a solid take-down game throughout the fight to control and defeat South Africa’s Garreth McLellan. That Fabinski was a late replacement made the win that much more impressive. The only other Polish fighter to get a win on this card was Pawel Pawlak, who defeated Canada’s Sheldon Westcott via unanimous decision.
