Darko Stošić ( sr, Дарко Стошић; born February 9, 1992) is a Serbian mixed martial artist currently fighting for Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW) in the

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

division. He is the former Final Fight Championship (FFC) heavyweight champion and he also competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is currently ranked #1 in the KSW Heavyweight rankings.

Background

Stošić was born in

Laćarak Laćarak (, ) is a village located in the municipality of Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia. The settlement has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 10,638 inhabitants (as of 2011 census). Historical population * 1961: 5,902 * 1971: 8,121 ...

, Serbia in 1992. He attended Triva Vitasović Lebarnik Primary School where he started his judo lessons in LSK Judo Club in Laćarak. He won many judo championships in Serbia and the

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

region before he went to compete in

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

. He transitioned to MMA at the age of 18, training at the Car Dušan Silni gym along with Gagi Tešanović and Rođa Radosavljević, after Tesla Fighting Championship was formed, in hope to fight under the promotion.

Judo career

Stošić started training in judo at the age of seven until 2012 under Miša Jovetić. He was the judo national champion 10 times and twice Balkan champion which he was awarded the best athlete in MMA Red Star.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Stošić started his professional MMA career in 2012 and fought under various promotions, namely Tesla Fighting Championship, Adrenalin Freefight Challenge and Final Fight Championship where he was the heavyweight champion. He amassed the record of 12–1 prior signed by UFC in December 2017.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Stošić made his UFC promotion debut on July 22, 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Smith against Jeremy Kimball. He won the fight via technical knockout. Stošić was scheduled to face Magomed Ankalaev on February 23, 2019 at

UFC on ESPN+ 3 ''UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. dos Santos'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 3'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on June 29, 2019, at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Background Th ...

. However, Stošić pulled out of the fight on January 23, 2019 citing injury. Ankalaev instead faced promotional newcomer

Klidson Abreu Klidson Abreu (born 24 December 1992) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist competing in the Heavyweight division of Professional Fighters League. He formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Mixed martial arts career Earl ...

. His second UFC fight came on June 1, 2019 against Devin Clark at UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Smith. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Stošić faced

Kennedy Nzechukwu Kennedy Nzechukwu (born June 13, 1992) is a Nigerian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Nzechukwu moved from Nigeria to the United States wit ...

on August 3, 2019 at UFC on ESPN: Covington vs. Lawler. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Stošić faced Jamahal Hill on January 25 2020 at UFC Fight Night 166. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Stošić was released by the UFC on February 11, 2020.

KSW

It was announced in April 2020, that Darko was signing a 4 fight deal with KSW. For his organizational debut, Stošić is scheduled to fight the five-fight KSW veteran Michał Włodarek at KSW 58. The fight was later postponed for KSW 59: Fight Code. He won the bout via KO in the second round. Stošić, as a replacement for Jay Silva, faced Michał Kita on June 5, 2021 at KSW 61. He controlled most of the bout and finished Kita in the first round via ground and pound. Stošić faced Michał Andryszak on September 4, 2021 at KSW 63: Crime of The Century. He won the bout via split decision. Stošić fought for the KSW Heavyweight Championship against reigning champion

Phil De Fries Philip De Fries (born 21 April 1986) is a British mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division of Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki. A professional competitor since 2009, De Fries has formerly competed for the UFC, Bellator, an ...

at KSW 67 on February 26, 2022. He lost the bout via TKO after tapping due to combination of exhaustion and damage in the fifth round. Stošić faced Michał Kita in a rematch at KSW 74: De Fries vs. Prasel on September 10, 2022. He won the bout in the second round, knocking Kita out.

Championships and accomplishments

Judo

*2008 Serbian U17 under 90 kg Champion *2008 Balkan U17 under 90 kg Champion *2010 Serbian U20 under 100 kg Champion *2010 Serbian U23 under 100 kg Champion *2011 Serbian U20 under 100 kg Champion *2011 Balkan U20 under 100 kg Champion

Mixed martial arts

* Final Fight Championship ** FFC Heavyweight Championship (One time) ***Two successful title defenses

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 17–5 , Michał Kita , KO (punches) , KSW 74: De Fries vs. Prasel , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:54 , Ostrów Wielkopolski, Poland , , - , Loss , align=center, 16–5 ,

, TKO (submission to punches) , KSW 67: De Fries vs. Stošić , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 3:44 , Warsaw, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 16–4 , Michał Andryszak , Decision (split) , KSW 63: Crime of The Century , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Warszawa, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 15–4 , Michał Kita , TKO (punches) , KSW 61: To Fight or Not To Fight , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:05 ,

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 14–4 , Michał Włodarek , KO (punches) , KSW 59: Fight Code , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:39 , Łódź, Poland , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–4 , Jamahal Hill , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. dos Santos , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Raleigh, North Carolina, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ESPN: Covington vs. Lawler , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Newark, New Jersey, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–2 , Devin Clark , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Smith , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 13–1 , Jeremy Kimball , TKO (elbows and punches) , UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Smith , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:13 , Hamburg, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 , Tomasz Czerwiński , TKO (punches) , Collision Fighting League 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

, Serbia , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 , Emil Zahariev , TKO (leg kicks) , Final Fight Championship 28 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:07 , Athens, Greece , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Dion Staring , Decision (unanimous) , Final Fight Championship 27 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Zagreb, Croatia , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Dion Staring , Decision (majority) , Final Fight Championship 26 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Linz, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Manny Murillo , TKO (punches) , Final Fight Championship 25 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:56 ,

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Ivan Vitasović , Submission (americana) , Final Fight Championship 21 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:59 ,

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

, Croatia , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Hatef Moeil , TKO (punches) , Final Fight Championship 19 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:17 , Linz, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Dionysis Papadopoulos , TKO (punches) , Final Fight Championship 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:59 , Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 ,

Jiří Procházka Jiří Procházka (; ; born October 14, 1992) is a Czech mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. He was the i ...

, TKO (punches) , GCF Challenge: Cage Fight 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:09 ,

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

, Czech Republic , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Rizvan Kuniev , Decision (unanimous) , Tesla Fighting Championship 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Pomoravlje, Serbia , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Saša Lazić , TKO (punches) , Master Challenge 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:19 , Pomoravlje, Serbia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Rok Kokotec , TKO (punches) , AFC 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:30 , Trbovlje, Slovenia , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Željko Sarić , Decision (unanimous) , Tesla Fighting Championship 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Serbia , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stosic, Darko 1992 births Living people Sportspeople from Sremska Mitrovica Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Serbian male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Serbian male judoka Serbian male kickboxers