English middleweight Tom Breese picked up a submission victory on his promotional debut at KSW 74 at the weekend, but the contested nature of his finish of Polish fan-favourite Damian Janikowski has led to calls for an immediate rematch.
Breese locked up a guillotine choke finish that brought about the first-round finish, but claims by Janikowski that his “tap” on the back of Breese was not a submission and that the referee had made a mistake left a sour taste after Breese’s first appearance inside the KSW cage.
For his part, Breese was controlling the fight and had Janikowski trapped in the choke when the fight was waved off. No blame or accusation was levied at the Brit, who has no issue with being given the win, nor with the prospect of facing Janikowski again later this year.
“I was winning the fight anyway,” he said backstage following his victory.
“I was only getting stronger, so it is what it is. We’ll do again though. We’ll do it again. I’ll fight every middleweight. I don’t care. I’ll fight everyone. That’s it.”
Breese looked comfortable against former London 2012 Olympic Greco-Roman bronze medallist Janikowski as he outstruck the Pole on the feet, and stuffed his opponent’s takedown attempts. Once such attempt led to Breese locking up the choke that eventually led to the finish.
“Yeah. I worked my southpaw attributes, worked my range,” he explained.
“And I learned a lot of things about him tonight, as well. So if we have the rematch, let’s get it, you know?”
KSW will be looking to pack their final fight card of the year in December, and a potential rematch between the pair on that event has already been mooted. For Breese, that’s no problem at all. His aim is to run through each and every middleweight contender on the KSW roster en route to the promotion’s 185-pound title.
Yeah, sure! No problem!,” he said when asked about a potential December rematch.
“Listen, this is my third fight this year. I’m game as f**k. People doubt me, but trust me, I’m coming. I’m f*****g coming! I want this!”
It may have been a little unusual, but Breese said his first outing as a KSW fighter was an enjoyable one, and he’s looking forward to showcasing his skills inside the Polish promotion’s cage sooner rather than later.
“I’d like to say it was an honour to fight in KSW, an honour to fight Damian Janikowski,” he said.
“I’ve loved my time here and I can’t wait to come back.”
