Former boxing world title challenger Artur Szpilka will want to forget his most recent MMA fight in a hurry.
The Polish southpaw fought Arkadiusz Wrzosek at KSW 94 on Saturday night in his fourth outing as a professional MMA fighter and made quite the impression with his entrance.
1
Szpilka mixed it with the best during his boxing careerCredit: Getty
Szpilka was wheeled to the cage in a cryo chamber accompanied by scientists and dramatic sound effects – the kind of scene you would expect to see in a sci-fi blockbuster.
However, he wasn’t able to back it up when the bell rang.
Szpilka came flying out the gates, looking to land one of his trademark straight lefts but got pulled to the ground on his way in and finished by a flurry of shots on the canvas in the opening 14 seconds.
It marked the first defeat of Szpilka’s fledgling (3-1) MMA career.
Szpilka made the transition to MMA after retiring from professional boxing in 2021.
As a gloved pro, he went 24-5 and fought several familiar faces.
The best win of his career came against former two-weight world champion Tomasz Adamek in 2014.
This kicked off a four-fight winning streak that led to him being ordered to face Deontay Wilder for the WBC world heavyweight title two years later.
Szpilka caused ‘The Bronze Bomber’ real problems early doors but eventually came unstuck when he was tagged by a big right hand in the ninth round that sent him down and out.
After trading wins and losses to fringe world-level opposition, ‘The Pin’ was knocked out by Derek Chisora at London’s O2 Arena in his sole appearance on British shores.
He fought three more times in the paid ranks, beating Fabio Tuiach and Serhiy Radchenko before being dispatched in the opening stanza by WBC bridgerweight champion Lukasz Rozanski.
In 2022, it was announced that Szpilka would make his MMA debut against his former foe Radchenko.
He won the bout via second-round TKO and then beat Denis Zalecki after his opponent was unable to continue due to a knee injury.
His third pro-MMA fight came against five-time World’s Strongest Man winner Mariusz Pudzianowski who he knocked out in the second round.
