KSW Women’s Champion Karolina Kowalkiewicz retained her 115-pound title with a first-round submission victory tonight at KSW 27: “Cage Time” in Gdańsk, Poland. The Polish rising star kept her unbeaten record intact by defeating Austria’s Jasminka “Impressive” Cive with a slick armbar.

Kowalkiewicz, who signed on with Invicta FC earlier this year, continues to impress with each passing fight. She took Cive down early in tonight’s title bout and prevented her from doing anything on the ground. After working for a rear-naked choke, Kowalkiewicz switched to an armbar for the tapout win.

Kowalkiewicz (5-0-0) caught a kick from Cive (5-2-0) and tripped her to the mat in the opening seconds. She dropped down into Cive’s guard and passed to side control. Kowalkiewicz took advantage of an opportunity to move to mount and Cive was forced to give up her back. Kowalkiewicz punished her with punches and worked for a rear-naked choke. She secured the choke, but Cive broke her grip and turned into her guard. Not to be deterred, Kowalkiewicz immediately swept into top position and locked on a tight armbar that forced Cive to hastily submit.

Though she is still young in her MMA career, the 28-year-old Kowalkiewicz is one of the most popular female fighters in Europe. Her performance tonight was arguably her best to date and she remains one of the top stars on the KSW roster. A date for her Invicta FC debut has not yet been announced.

Winner: Karolina Kowalkiewicz by Submission (Armbar) at 3:53 of round one. She improves to 5-0-0 and remains the KSW Women’s Champion.

(Photo Credit: KSW)