At Warrior FC V Damian Kusz (Macroom thai) upset the odds by knocking out favourite Dawid Blaszke (Naas kickboxing) in round one. On May 28 the pair will meet again at Good Council GAA, Dublin but this time there is even more at stake. The ISKA pro title.

“I heard that people were surprised by me winning it (first fight with Blaszke),” began Kusz. “I didn’t expect it would be over in the first round as I had myself prepared for a three round fight.

“It was the fastest win in my career but I can’t say it was the best win as when I look back at it I made a few mistakes but the most important thing is that I won.”

Will the challenge be greater in the rematch considering Blaszke may be better prepared?

Kusz said: “I am aware that there is a hard fight ahead of me as we already fought together. I know a bit more of what to expect and that’s why I am preparing myself better than the last time. I will be ready for the next fight with Blaszke and I am coming to Warrior FC to take the belt with me.”

He went on to describe what the ISKA title would mean to him, he stated, “ISKA is one of the oldest, well known and one of the best Federations in the world, that’s why owning that belt would make one of my wishes come true and it would be a great prize for all the hard work I put into the training.”

Now 29, Kusz reflected on his time in martial arts so far. He started at the age of 23 and competed for the first time a year later.

He added: “I’ve lived in Ireland for the past nine years and this is where my adventure with martial arts started. I joined club Macroom Thai Cork under the eye of my trainer Andrzej Sliwa. I have been in Thailand for a few months on training camps where I was mastering Muay Thai and I was honoured to have a fight over there also. But at the end of the day I owe my adventure with this sport to Ireland as this is where it all started.”

Speaking about the upcoming promotion, Warrior FC, Damian said: “I think that Warriors is definitely going in the right direction and there is a lot of good fighters coming into it from different countries and because of that we see more and more great fights. It’s a well organised event and I have good memories from it.”

We asked Kusz who were some of his favourite fighters to watch.

“When it comes UFC, from previous years I was a big fan of George St-Pierre. He has proved many times by defending his UFC belt that he is the champion. Now I follow Muay Thai fighter Buakaw Por Pramuk who is my idol and a true legend of Muay Thai. He has great experience and has had hundreds of fights including K1. He is very modest and has a big heart for this sport,” he said.

If Kusz beats Blaszke for the second time, where would he rank himself among other K1 fighters in Ireland?

He concluded: “If I win again at Warrior FC and get the ISKA belt I still won’t be able to call myself the best K1 fighter in Ireland. I think that I need to defend the belt a few times first to prove that I am the best and I deserve to be called champion.

“When I win, I will treat myself with one week free of training and then I go to Poland for a five week training camp.”

Warrior FC VI 28.05.2016

Good counsel GAA, Dublin 12