By Caolite de Barra
MMA Polska held their 2021 national amateur championships on the 12th of June in Warsaw. The event saw competitors at both Junior and Senior level compete for a place on the national squad ahead of the IMMAF European Championships, World Cup and World Championships coming up this year.
Over 10 hours, 160 fights took place across two cages with representatives from clubs from all around Poland taking part. Fans were also welcomed to the tournament, a limit of 50% capacity was put on the venue, but there was no charge for tickets. The finals were also streamed live on Polsat Sport Fight HD. MMA Polska & KSW President Martin Lewandowski was heavily involved as he continues to support the growth of MMA in Poland.
Poland’s amateur MMA scene is already at a very high level, it’s common to see Polish amateur MMA fighters with extensive amateur records. It is a tournament like this that brings the best fighters across the nation together to decide who is the best in their respective weight division.
The 77kg division had the most entries with Patryk Semeiuk coming out of the stacked division with a gold medal. Across the divisions, Paweł Kryński saw off a highly experienced Adam Wiewióra in the final to secure his national team spot in the 83kg division.
In the Heavyweight division, the sole two entrants took to the cage for the final. Jacek Bartczak dominantly took home gold, stopping his opponent via punches in the first round.
Some familiar faces were also in action, Magdalena Czaban, one of Poland’s brightest amateur prospects, was successful in clinching flyweight gold. The MMA Acadamy Cracow fighter is a very good striker, having finished two IMMAF bouts first-round TKO/KO. This striking was on display yet again as she finished her opponent via punches to secure the win.
Czaban won the 2019 IMMAF European Open Championship, picking up three wins on the trot to secure her gold medal position. She went on to compete at the World Championships later that year, securing a gold medal.
Her last outing was at the 2020 IMMAF-WMMAA Oceania Open Championships where she took home silver.
Speaking with MMARocks.pl post-fight, Czaban was impressed with the level of competition and spoke of how she can still achieve a lot as an amateur before making the leap to pro.
“I really liked the level of the competition. Although I did not have the opportunity to watch female fighters, the level that was presented by men was really high.”
“I have time to turn professional, and I know that I can still achieve a lot in amateur MMA and show myself from an even better side. I still have a lot to learn. I want to go professional with the conviction that “I know what I’m doing” and feel confidence with my striking, ground game and wrestling.”
On the MMARocks.pl podcast, UFC Veteran Krzysztof Soszyński went on to highlight the quality of the tournament and reiterated just how good Czaban is.
“The level of the MMA Poland Championship was really high. Some of the fighters could easily fight as professionals. They were much better than some fighters with professional careers. This girl, Magdalena Czaban, has such a level that I don’t even understand it.”
Following the event, MMA Polska and KSW President Martin Lewandowski spoke about the historic event and the measures taken to host such a large-scale event.
“Our first MMA POLAND Championship was a great event. Over 200 players from almost 70 clubs took part. More Than 160 Fights during 1 day. 10 hours of fighting in two cages at the same time. And for the first time in the history of Polish amateur MMA – Two hours of final tournament fights were broadcast live on the Polsat Sport Fight channel.”
“During the Championship, we started the selection process for the Polish National MMA Team, who will represent Poland during the IMMAF World and European Championships in 2021.
Only judges and cutmen certified by the Association supervised the competition.”
“Medical care was provided by the most experienced paramedics in MMA. I am proud of the attendance and my teams who did a great job. But that’s just the beginning of bringing polish amateurs on a higher level.”
For those looking to watch the tournament back, fights are available on the MMA Polska YouTube Channel.
