CHILLIWACK, B.C.
If there were just a few more seconds in Round 1 of Stefan Brynolfsson’s fight, he’d have an undefeated 2-0 record.
Instead, through split decision, Avalanche MMA’s Brynolfsson lost to Chilliwack’s Brandon Wolkosky from Revolution Martial Arts, at Warpath 3 in Chilliwack, B.C. on Friday.
In the final seconds of Round 1 in the 180-pound fight, Brynolfsson got Wolkosky in a rear naked choke and was about to close the deal. However, “saved by the bell” is more than just an overused expression.
“It was really tight (choke) and a couple people said to me his hand was up ready to tap, but then the bell rang,” said Brynolfsson. “Where I think he won was his conditioning; his conditioning was better than mine.
“He’s bigger than I am, but I think I had the strength on him. It was just that third round - I was pretty tired.”
Even Wolkosky, now 3-0, admits the first-round bell couldn’t have come at a better time.
“He had that choke on me tight,” said Wolkosky. “I knew there wasn’t much time left, so I wasn’t going to tap out. But yeah, he had it on tight - he had a really sound ground game.
“I have mad respect for Stefan, he’s a really tough dude,” he added. “It really could have gone either way. I think he took the first round - he took me down.”
Brynolfsson, 25, was originally supposed to fight someone else in the 190-pound class, before the fighter withdrew. He got his first win at Warpath 2 in September, defeating Luis Terrero, also from Revolution in Chilliwack, in the first round with a rear naked choke.
Wolkosky, who has been training for two years, is just 17 but looks more like he is in his mid-20s. He was a hard nut to crack, said Brynolfsson.
“I walked in there and stood up with him. I felt I had the advantage on my feet; his striking didn’t bother me too much. He did hit me with one or two shots that caught me.
“I kicked him real hard, I kicked him in the liver, which is what I was going for. But he really did take it. I kick pretty hard, so he really is a tough guy.
“I felt I won the first two rounds,” he continued. “In the first round, if we had been fighting five-minute rounds instead of three, I would have won that fight.”
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com