Marek Bujlo and Denzel Freeman, UFC Qatar Credit: Youtube/UFC
A pair of debuting heavyweights kicked off the UFC’s own debut in Qatar on Saturday, as Marek Bujlo took on Denzel Freeman in Doha.
The UFC Qatar curtain jerker found Poland’s undefeated 6-0 Bujlo as something of a question mark, while Freeman was a former LFA heavyweight champ.
The first real action came early, with Bujło opening the fight by chopping at Freeman’s lead leg. Both spent the opening minutes trading low kicks in a cautious feeling-out process. Freeman did time one of Bujło’s kicks with a clean straight and followed it by going high with his signature head kick. He mixed in rear-leg body kicks as well, giving Bujło different looks, but overall both men stayed patient and threw single strikes at a time. It was a slow, low-impact round with very little landing clean.
Round two played out much the same. The pace stayed low, neither fighter committing beyond sporadic low kicks. It felt more like a sparring session than a fight, and neither man separated himself heading into the final frame.
In round three, Freeman opened with a kick but slipped, allowing Bujło to briefly fall into his guard. Just as it looked like something might finally happen, Freeman scrambled right back to his feet and landed a right hand. From there, the fight returned to the same pattern—both hanging out at kickboxing range, barely engaging. Freeman did land the more impactful shots when he chose to open up, showing more explosiveness and slightly higher output, but overall, both fighters seemed intent on avoiding any real damage.
Official Result: Denzel Freeman def. Marek Bujlo by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
