Weekend Review: Wins for Engels and Van

Helena Engels reached the quarter-finals of the European Boxing Championships in Sofia. At UFC 331, Joshua Van confirmed his championship victory over Alexandre Pantoja across five rounds, while Štefan Vojčák claimed the interim KSW heavyweight belt at KSW 121.

The UFC produced the weekend's most spectacular finishes. Arman Tsarukyan stopped Mauricio Ruffy just before the end of round one, while Sean Sharaf needed only 12 seconds against Olympic champion Gable Steveson. From a German perspective, the DBV team added two more quarter-final places in Sofia.

Engels and Klötzer reach the last eight

Helena Engels defeated Ukraine's Raisa Piskun on points in the women's 75-kilogram round of 16. Maxi Klötzer advanced by walkover against Martina Vassallo at 51 kilograms. Ali El Sari was eliminated after losing a decision to Semih Gümüş.

Engels, Klötzer and Valerij Walter have now reached the quarter-finals after three days of competition. Denis Bril and Mouxime Abdoulay also won their opening bouts on Friday. CS.C covered that successful second day in Three German Wins Open the European Championships.

Van wins the complete test

Joshua Van retained the UFC flyweight title by unanimous decision over Alexandre Pantoja. The judges scored the rematch 49-46, 48-47 and 50-45 for the 24-year-old. This time, Van did not win through an early injury to his opponent, but after a complete five-round contest.

Pantoja used his grappling experience and controlled extended phases, but Van landed the cleaner strikes and closed with a strong fifth round. Following his victory over Tatsuro Taira, this was Van's second successful title defence.

Tsarukyan stops Ruffy as Sharaf shocks Steveson

Arman Tsarukyan strengthened his claim to the next lightweight title shot. Mauricio Ruffy defended the early wrestling attempts, but Tsarukyan pinned him against the fence and finished the fight with two elbows at 4:56 of round one.

Sean Sharaf delivered the biggest upset. The underdog knocked out Olympic wrestler Gable Steveson with his first clean left hand after only 12 seconds. Patricio Pitbull also earned a first-round stoppage, finishing Doo Ho Choi with punches at 3:28.

Vojčák takes interim KSW gold

Štefan Vojčák defeated Marcin Wójcik by TKO at 2:36 of round four in the KSW 121 main event. A high kick dropped Wójcik before Vojčák completed the finish with punches. The Slovak is now interim heavyweight champion and the first Slovak or Czech fighter to win a KSW title.

Undisputed champion Phil De Fries remains the titleholder during his injury absence. Vojčák has positioned himself for a future unification bout. The story behind the short-notice title fight is covered in CS.C's preview KSW 121: Vojčák vs Wójcik.

In the co-main event, Michał Michalski submitted Radosław Paczuski with a first-round rear-naked choke. Kacper Formela defeated Leo Brichta by unanimous decision. Muslim Tulshaev's bout with Kacper Koziorzębski ended in a no contest after an accidental groin strike.

What the weekend leaves behind

Germany's European Championship campaign remains open: three boxers have reached the quarter-finals, while Bril and Abdoulay are also still in the tournament. Internationally, Van removed the uncertainty left by the injury ending in his first bout with Pantoja. Tsarukyan made a strong case for the next title shot, and Vojčák reshaped KSW's heavyweight hierarchy.